Mass Effect: Resolution
by BlueSpartan107
Summary: Commander Zach Shepard begins the adventure of his life as he becomes the first human spectre and is sent to capture Saren Arterius before he brings destruction upon the galaxy. During this journey, he'll make friends, destroy enemies, grieve for his losses on Akuze, and find new meaning with the help of a quarian engineer. Eventual Shepard/Tali romance. V,L
1. Prologue: Genesis

Mass Effect: Resolution

Prologue: Genesis

In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient spacefaring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.

They call it the greatest discovery in human history.

The civilizations of the galaxy call it MASS EFFECT.

The Citadel, 14:23 pm

Serpent Nebula; May 29, 2183

Udina tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk as he waited for the dossiers to upload to his terminal. The dossiers were of candidates considerable to become the first human spectre, which would show how far the Alliance has come since their faithful meeting at relay-214. Standing alongside him in his office was Admiral Steven Hackett, leader of the Arcturus Fleet, and Captain David Anderson, a decorated war hero and current captain of the SSV Normandy; a co-developed turian-alliance frigate with classified new technology (which Udina had full knowledge of). The dossiers finally loaded up, and Udina scanned the first name. "How about Maine? He's the Hero of Elysium; stood up against an army of slavers, mercs, and pirates with nothing but an assault rifle."

Hackett shook his head. "Maine is currently MIA; hasn't reported back from a scouting mission in the Armstrong Cluster."

"Hmm." Udina muttered disappointingly. He flipped to the next dossier. "How about Stark?"

"Forget it!" Anderson interjected. "He's the butcher of Torfan. Slaughtered a hundred batarians with just a combat knife, and his entire unit was killed in the process. We don't need a bloodthirsty bastard like him representing humanity."

Udina groaned in annoyance yet again, and flipped to the next dossier. "Well, what about Shepard? Earthborn... but no record of his family."

That name attracted Anderson's attention. "Doesn't have one. He was raised on the streets; learned to look out for himself." And he knew that well. They had a chat back at Alliance HQ in New York a month ago, and the man was comfortable explaining his life story to the old man.

"He saw his whole unit die on Akuze." Hackett interjected, remembering all too well the sadness in his eyes as they closed the coffin of the only body recovered from the slaughter; the body of twenty-three year old Sergeant Jessica Weaver. Whatever she was to Shepard, it has likely scarred him pretty bad. "He could have some serious emotional scars."

"Every soldier has scars." Anderson pointed out. "Shepard's a survivor."

"Is that the kind of person we _want_ protecting the galaxy?" Udina asked, hoping the three of them could finally make a decision.

"That's the only kind of person who _can_ protect the galaxy." Anderson said with a smile, revealing that his vote was on Shepard.

Udina looked up at Hackett, and the old man nodded his head in agreement. "I'll make the call." Udina then said, happy that their candidate had been chosen.

SSV Normandy, 09:23 am

Above Earth's atmosphere; June 1st, 2183

Zach stared out the window of the Normandy to the beautiful sight of Earth. He knew that on the surface Earth still needed cleaning up from the idiotic choices made by people in the 21st century, but the view from space still held the planet's beauty. While his time living on the planet was bearable due to the support of Father Callahan, a priest from his home city still preaching the gospel but also making xenophobic remarks about humanity's new relationship with the council species, he still liked going to new worlds to discover new cultures and perspectives. He still wasn't sure what Callahan's problems with aliens was, and he was sure his silver tongue wouldn't be able to even come close to convincing Father Callahan to even say "Hi" to an alien. However, the asari he saw walking away from the church with a hidden smile while Callahan yelled at her to get away from his church rather 'fakely' last week made Zach question just how far his prejudice went when it came to the asari.

_Because everyone loves the asari apparently_. Zach thought to himself. As for his own views on the asari, while he found them attractive, he didn't think he could settle down with one given their longer life span and the fact that they take up multiple mates over the years. It still wasn't something he understood, but even though he's been in space for years now, he rarely had any contact with the citadel species or the other random groups of aliens throughout the galaxy. Staring at Earth again for the first time in a month since landing for some hard-earned extended shore leave made him realize just how much he missed such elegant beauty in his life.

How much he missed-

_Don't think about it now. You need a clear head for whatever your mission is. _Setting the matter aside for a time he wanted to grieve, he decided to walk to the cockpit, as the ship was finally heading out to the Charon Relay. Wearing his armor and gear, a set of heavy explorer armor he's had since Akuze, and a set of Elanus Risk Control Service weapons mounted to his magnetic clips on his armor, he walked with the seriousness of a soldier, nodding his head in greeting to those he passed by. The pilot was announcing some random piloting stuff as they approached the giant construct that enabled fast-travelling space flight in a matter of what seemed like minutes. When he reached the cockpit, he noticed he was not alone. Standing to his side was Nihlus, a turian spectre sent by the council to 'keep an eye on their investment', as the turians helped build this advanced ship. While Zach didn't know everything about the ship just yet, he knew they were heading to the exodus cluster to test the IES stealth systems, a tactical advantage to the right kind of operative. However, he did feel like there was something off about this mission. But that was probably superstition due to his time in combat giving him a seemingly 'sixth sense' when danger approached him.

The pilot soon counted down the time it took to hit the relay, and the ship jumped at high speeds as it travelled along the current of the beam.

"Thrusters: check. Navigation: check. Internal emissions sync engaged. All systems online." The pilot commented. "Drift just under 1500K."

"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased." Nihlus commented before departing the cockpit. However, once the turian was out of earshot, Zach heard the pilot speak four words:

"I hate that guy."

"Nihlus gave you a compliment. So you hate him." the co-pilot commented. Zach took a step forward and crossed his arms behind his back while the pilot decided to make a joke.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good! I just jumped us half way across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead! So that's incredible!" The pilot then returned to a serious voice as he spoke of Nihlus again. "Besides, spectres are trouble. I don't like having him onboard. Call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid. The council helped fund this project. They have the right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yep. That is the _official_ story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

"They don't send spectres on shakedown runs." Zach agreed.

"So there's more going on here than the captain's letting o-"

The intercom blurred to life as Captain Anderson's voice spoke in the stoic, commanding voice. _"Joker! Status report!" _Zach had met Anderson about a month ago when he took some time off in New York. He was a decorated war hero, and a bit of a father figure to him, as it was the captain's stories that had got him to originally consider joining the Alliance when he was a teenager.

"Just cleared the mass relay, captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid." The pilot Zach now knew to call Joker spoke.

_"Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."_

"Aye, aye, captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

_"He's already here, Leuteinent."_ Joker shook his head at the captain's comment. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing." The intercom then cut itself off, as Anderson was done speaking.

"You get all that, Commander?"

"I'm on my way." Zach said almost glumly.

Joker scoffed. "Is it me or does the captain always sound pissed off?"

"Only when he's talking to you, Joker." the co-pilot said as Zach walked away. As he headed to the comm room, he heard chattering from the navigator talking to someone from the intercom system about Nihlus. As he got closer, he saw one of the soldiers talking to who appeared to be the doctor aboard the ship. He heard the kid mention that he grew up on Eden Prime; that it didn't seem the place to be testing out the ship, and that Nihlus's presence infers that there's going to be a real mission. When he walked into the comm room, he found only Nihlus standing next to the holographic projectors, which were used for communication to people like politicians and admirals. He was more than sure Anderson was here as well, but he could've left the room before Zach got there.

"Commander Shepard," Nihlus said as he turned around to face him. "I was hoping you would get here first. It would give us a chance to talk."

This confused Zach, as he was sure Anderson stated Nihlus was with him in the comm room, and not in the cabin downstairs. "What about?" he then asked.

"I'm interested in this world we're going to: Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

Zach had never been there himself, but he heard the stories of its majesty. "They say it's a paradise."

"Yes, a paradise. Serene, tranquil, safe. Eden Prime has become something of a symbol to your people. Proof that not only humanity can establish colonies across the galaxy but also protect them." He turned around before his seemingly friendly tone turned a little more serious. "But how safe is it really?"

That sent a signal to Zach's brain. "Do you know something?" he stated, holding a tone as serious to Nihlus's remark.

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard." Nihlus said as he turned to face Shepard again. "The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance _truly_ ready for this?"

Before Zach could ask what Nihlus meant by that last comment, Captain Anderson finally made it to the comm room. "I think it's time we told the Commander what's really going on."

"This mission's far more than a simple shakedown run." Nihlus put out bluntly.

"I figured there was something you weren't telling us." Zach spoke to Anderson.

"We're making a covert pickup on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems operational."

Zach eyed the captain with a serious yet confused look. "There must be a reason you didn't tell me about this, sir."

"This comes down from the top. information strictly on a need-to-know basis." Anderson started walking towards Nihlus. "A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some sort of beacon during an excavation. It was prothean."

_The name of the space-faring civilization that ruled the galaxy... and disappeared. _Zach quickly thought. "I thought the protheans vanished fifty-thousand years ago."

"Their legacy still remains. The mass relays. The Citadel. Our ship drives. It's all based on prothean technology."

"This is big, Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two-hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the necessary facilities to handle something like this. We need to take it to the Citadel for proper study."

"Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect every species in Citadel space."

"Why didn't we keep the beacon for ourselves?" Zach asked Nihlus merely out of curiosity.

"Your people don't have the best reputation. Some species see you as too selfish, too unpredictable, too independent, even dangerous."

"Sharing that beacon will improve relations with the council." Anderson chimed in. "Plus we need their expertise. They know more about the protheans than we do."

"The beacon is not the only reason I'm here, Commander." Nihlus spoke as he walked to Zach's right.

"Nihlus isn't just here for the beacon. He's also here to evaluate you."

That got Zach interested, and made him finally understand why Nihlus has been watching him since coming aboard. "Guess that explains why I bump into him every time I turn around." he joked.

"The Alliance has been pushing this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel council. The spectres represent the council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

"Not many could've survived what you went through on Akuze, but you showed incredible strength, and a remarkable will to live. A particularly useful talent. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the spectres."

"Why would a turian want a human in the spectres?"

"Not all turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer to the galaxy, and to the spectres. We are an elite group. It's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human. I only care that you can get the job done."

Zach faced Anderson. "I assume this is good for the Alliance?"

"Earth needs this, Shepard. We're counting on you."

"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander." Nihlus stated. "Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together."

"You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it back to the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

"Just give the word, Captain" Zach said, positive he had all the information he needed.

"We should be getting close to Eden-"

_"Captain! We've got a problem!"_ Joker interrupted over the intercom.

"What's wrong, Joker?"

_"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir! You better see this."_

"Bring it up on screen." Anderson ordered. The three men walked towards the projectors, which then played a message of the battle on Eden Prime. Whoever is recording the message is told to get down by a woman in Phoenix armor, who then fires a few short bursts from her assault rifle. Another man is then shown calling for evacuation before he gets knocked back; possibly from a shot the enemy fired at him. All of a sudden, a loud noise is heard, and the marines look to the sky with expressions of shock on their faces. The one with the camera joins their stare at the sky as a large ship is seen coming down. The footage ends after the marines are running from a bombardment of missile fire, and then static.

_"Everything cuts out after that. No comm traffic at all. Just goes dead. There's nothing."_

"Reverse and hold at 38.5." Anderson ordered. The footage goes back to the ship. Red bolts of electricity are leaving its strange tentacles on the front of the ship. Nihlus's mandables twitch. "Status report!"

_"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance force in the area."_

"Take us in, Joker; fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated."

"A small strike team can move quickly, without drawing too much attention." Nihlus suggested. "It's our best chance to secure the beacon." Zach stared at the frame a little longer, curious as to what exactly he was seeing.

"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold!" Anderson told Nihlus, and he turned to face Shepard as Nihlus left. "Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You're going in."

Shepard took one last glimpse at the film, unaware that this day would change his life forever.

Author's Note: I hope you have enjoyed the prologue of my character's story in the Mass Effect storyline. I'd like to point out a few things, though, before people may start asking some questions that I know someone will want to ask:

1-My character has his own designed look that is not based off of the default MaleShep face. If you read my short-story Mass Effect 3: Remembrance, then you will have a start to his actual look.

2-I plan on taking this story from start to finish, however I won't have a certain upload schedule for the chapters, as I have a pretty busy work schedule right now (what happens when your mom's your boss and recently fires someone) but I will try to be as frequent as possible. As for when I reach Mass Effect 3, I have my own little plan for the ending, though I'm also waiting to see if youtube user Lightstreak567's "unfinished puzzle" theory, which states Bioware _still _isn't finished with the ending, comes true as well. I plan on dragging my character's legacy through four stories, with a post-ME3 story taking place twenty years later following another character connected to Shepard throughout that story.

3-I do plan on introducing characters not ever mentioned in the lore, but some of those characters are already in Remembrance, which reveals part of Zach's choices from ME2. Some will be shown through flashbacks or quick transitions. Others will just appear and disappear until a chosen time where you can really call them characters.

Anyways, review, enjoy, follow, and hold the line!


	2. Chapter 1: Eden Prime

Chapter 1: Eden Prime

Zach had walked with Anderson to the elevator after using the intercom to bring up Jenkins and Alenko to the elevator. After the two of them stepped inside, two other men in normal alliance clothing stepped in. One was the kid with the beret talking to the doctor, and the other was the co-pilot from the cockpit.

"Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko reporting for duty, commander." the co-pilot spoke as he extended his hand to shake. Zach welcomed it with a firm handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant. I'm sure it'll be an honor to work alongside you for the days to come." He released his grip on the man's hand, and turned to face the younger man. "And you are?"

"Corporal Richard L. Jenkins, sir. And I must say it is a great honor to be working with you. Though I hope Eden Prime isn't burning down by the time we reach the drop point."

"I heard you mention you grew up there as I was walking to the comm room. Did you know a lot of people on the colony?"

"Just about everybody. We were a small colony developing slowly to avoid pollution like on Earth. Right now, Eden Prime is just a farming colony. My parents lived on the outskirts, so we had a beautiful view at night. Such a gorgeous colony..." The kid looked down for a bit.

"We're going to do everything we can, Corporal." Zach said reassuringly. Jenkins raised his head with a small smile.

"Thanks, Commander." The elevator descended down to the armory. Behind the elevator was the engineering deck, which Zach could hear slightly from his spot on the elevator. Once the door opened, Kaidan and Jenkins stepped out and grabbed their armor and weapons; when everything was situated, they all slipped on their helmets. Zach quickly pulled out his pistol, a Striker VIII, and examined it to ensure the modifications were installed correctly. He had installed into the ammunition systems a cryogenic cylinder, which enabled the bullets that came out to freeze an enemy on target. He had the same system installed to his Banshee VIII as well. Despite the fact his pistol fired slowly now, he did increase the amount of times it could be fired, and reduced the kickback of the gun with a stability dampener.

"Hey, Commander." Jenkins interrupted his train of thought. "I was wondering what was it like down on Akuze with all those thresher maws jumping out and attacking your squad? I mean, was it like you ran through with no fear, surviving because you were the strongest? Or were you afraid-" The kid never finished his sentence as Zach banged his fist on the armory table, shutting Jenkins up almost immediately.

"Let's get two things straight, Corporal. First, don't interrupt me while I'm admiring my handiwork." He showed off his pistol before clipping it to his hip-clip. "Second, I don't like talking about Akuze to anybody; especially a young marine with a bright future ahead of him, who should pray he never experiences the loss of their whole team to the unknown. I lost a lot of friends that day," he paused for a second. "Some more important than others. And now I have an irrational fear and hatred towards thresher maws. So I suggest you stop talking about a past that never leaves my head."

"Sorry, Commander." The kid apologized sincerely.

"Apology accepted." Zach dropped his serious facade for a more investigative one. "Why don't you and Alenko tell me about your qualifications."

"Well, I've got the basic weapons training qualifications, and I've got some average medical training." Jenkins replied. "What about you, Lieutenant?"

"I've got biotics training, and I know my way around some technological subjects, like electronics and decrypting."

"You're a biotic?" Zach asked.

"One of the earlier generations. My biotics are quite powerful for a human."

"I've met a few biotics through my career. Some I sparred with in hand-to-hand drills. Others, well..." Zach tapped his fingers on his Hurricane VIII he had clipped to the back of his armor. "I showed them what I thought of their biotics."

"You have something against biotics?"

"It's just not the kind of power I want. I trust my life on only my guns, and this omni-tool." He pulled out his omni-tool, a Titan X model. It was very rare, and very expensive when he received it. That was when he turned seventeen. "This thing has been through my life for twelve years. It's survived every scar, every broken bone, and every travel through bad weather. I've never had to repair it once."

"Weren't you still on the streets twelve years ago? How'd you get something as expensive as that?"

"I got it from a friend." Zach never got to continue his ramble as the pilot called over the intercom, stating that they were approaching the first drop point. So he led the two men to the hanger bay doors. Anderson was ready to give them the briefing.

"Your team's the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in quiet and head straight for the dig site."

"What about survivors, Captain?" Kaidan asked.

"Helping survivors is your secondary objective. The beacon's your top priority!" Anderson had to shout as the hanger bay doors opened near the first drop point.

_"Approaching drop point one."_ The pilot notified over the intercom.

Jenkins turned his head to face Nihlus, who had grabbed a spectre-grade shotgun and assault rifle before joining them. "Nihlus, you're coming with us?"

Nihlus cocked his shotgun. "I move faster on my own!" He then jumped out at the right time, landing on a ridge Joker was passing by.

"Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission. Otherwise, I want radio silence."

"We've got his back, Captain." Zach assured, knowing a spectre was a good ally for this fight.

"The mission's yours now, Shepard. Good luck!" Anderson yelled as they approached the second drop point. When Joker lowered the ship far enough, the three men jumped off the platform to soft ground. The hangar doors closed, and the ship flew away.

"All right. I want your shields up at all times. There's no telling who or what attacked the colony." Zach commanded the two men, who followed the order instantly. Zach then fired up his own shield generator, which was at 352% thanks to an increased shield interface on his armor. "Jenkins, this is your home, so you're taking the front ranks. Keep your eyes peeled, and stay together. I don't need soldiers dying because they ran off like idiots."

"Aye, aye, sir." Jenkins then pulled the rifle off his back, and took the lead. As they neared a small pond, Alenko spotted something peculiar.

"_What_ the _hell_ are _those_?!" He pointed at a giant floating creature at the pond.

"Gas bags." Jenkins answered. "Don't worry. They're harmless."

_Harmless_. Zach pulled his pistol off his belt, smiling a bit as he brought it up to his sights. He took aim at the closest one, and pulled the trigger. The gas bag popped upon impact.

"Damn!" Kaidan yelled at the sound of the pop.

"Harmless indeed. Let's keep moving." Putting his pistol away, he led the men onward, with Jenkins in the lead. They stopped at a small clearing, with only a few rocks as cover if the attackers had planned an ambush in front of them. He signaled for Jenkins to take point, who then walked to the corner of the opening.

As soon as he was in the clear, a hail of slugs from a patrol unit of drones hit him, ripping through his shields and armor.

"Jenkins! Damn it!" Zach yelled as he pulled off his assault rifle and fired at the drones. The bullets bounced off the shields, barely affecting their power.

"Overloading their shields!" Kaidan launched out his overload program at the three drones, disabling their shields with a single spark. Zach shot the first one down, but not without taking damage to his shields before taking cover. However, his shields were still holding around 200%; a good sign for the resilient soldier. Kaidan lashed out his biotics at another drone, destroying it as it collided with a rock wall adjacent to it. They took the last drone down with their weapons, as the cryo rounds froze the drone before Kaidan shattered it with his pistol.

Jenkins lay still on the ground where they had left them. Kaidan checked for a pulse, shaking his head when he found none. He closed the young man's eyes with two fingers. "Ripped right through his shields. Never had a chance."

Zach blinked his eyes, holding his sadness in over the loss of yet another soldier he served with. "We'll see he receives a proper service when the mission's over. But I need you to stay focused."

"Aye, aye, sir." With that, the two men set out to continue their mission.

Meanwhile, Ashley Williams ran as fast as she could away from another patrol of geth drones hot on her trail. They sprayed a group of bullets at her, knocking against her shields as she tripped and fell. Removing her pistol in one swift motion, she shot at the drones, which fell apart as scrap almost instantly. As she got up, she noticed two geth platforms holding onto a colonist, placing him up on some strange device. She ran as soon as she saw the man get stabbed by a spike that jettisoned from the device. Hiding behind a rock as soon as the geth turned to face her location. Panting hard from all of the running, she pulled her assault rifle off her back, waiting for the inevitable moment the machines would be right on top of her position.

_Damn it, Owen. Where the hell are you?_ She quickly thought to herself. If Owen, the only biotic in their squad had been present during the attack, then at least half the unit would've still been alive. Now, she's the only known survivor.

Just when she thought she would've been caught, she heard the sound of gunfire and an explosion from a frozen target. She got out of her hiding spot and walked towards her rescuers, two men with rifles in their hands. One was wearing heavy explorer armor that had definitely seen some action over the years. The other was in the lighter version of the Alliance's standard Onyx armor. She clipped her gun back on the right shoulder clip.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212th. Are you the one in charge here, sir?" She spoke to the man in heavy armor.

In Zach's mind, the woman who walked out of cover gave Zach a moment of pause. But it wasn't from her looks. He took Alliance protocol very seriously now, so he wasn't planning on getting emotionally attached to any Alliance marine that caught his eye. What gave him a moment of pause was her armor type.

Phoenix armor. Just like-

_Focus, Shepard. You're in the middle of a mission. Crying in front of a lady is_ not _an option_. "Were you hurt in the fight?"

"A few scrapes and burns. Nothing serious." Ashley replied. "The others weren't so lucky. Oh, man. We were out on patrol when the attack hit. We tried to get to the beacon, but they boxed us in. I've been fighting for my life ever since!"

"Any idea just what kind of enemy we're facing?"

"I think they're geth."

"The geth haven't been seen outside the veil in nearly three-hundred years." Kaidan stated. "Why are they here now?"

Ashley shrugged her shoulders. "They must've come for the beacon. The dig site's close, just over that rise. It might still be there."

Zach looked in the direction Ashley had pointed. "We could use your help, Williams." And he was right. With Jenkins gone and Nihlus far ahead of them, a squad of two wouldn't stand much of a chance against the geth.

"Aye, aye, sir. It's time for payback." The look of determination in her eyes yet again made Zach return to those memories for only a second, but he focused back on the mission. There was no time to think about her.

"Move out!" The three of them held their rifles at the ready and headed towards the dig site, killing a few geth that stood in their way. However, when they got to the dig site, there was nothing there. Zach put his Banshee VIII back in its clip, and shook his head in confusion.

"The beacon was right here! It must have been moved." Ashley inferred.

"By who?" Kaidan asked. "Our side or the geth?"

"Hard to say. Maybe we'll know more if we can get to the research camp up ahead."

"You think anyone got out of here alive?" Zach asked with disbelief, certain that there were no other survivors around.

"If they're lucky. Maybe we'll find out more when we get to the research camp. It's just atop this ridge."

Following Ashley, who now possessed the only knowledge on the surrounding area, Shepard and the gang headed up the path, receiving a quick update from Nihlus to meet up at a nearby spaceport. Up at the camp, however, things were looking grim. There was one structure on fire, and more of those spikes they passed by in the center of the camp. However, the humans on them were different. Changed.

"This place got hit hard." Ashley commented.

"It's a good place for an ambush," Kaidan observed. "Keep your guard up." As soon as he said that, the spikes started descending, and the humans started fidgeting. "Oh, God! They're still alive!"

"What did the geth do to them?!" Ashley screamed as the strange mutants started running at them. The three of them threw a barrage of bullets, grenades, and biotics at the husks, killing them one by one. Zach examined whatever bodies he didn't freeze, and noticed the technology that seemed to be integrated into the corpses. Tubes and wires were spread out throughout its body, and there were places where it glowed a fluorescent blue. So strange.

"Look. That door." Ashley pointed at one of the structures. "Security lock's engaged."

"Not a problem." Zach stepped up to the door and fiddled with his omni-tool, unlocking the door. Behind it, two civilians in what appeared to be the uniforms of scientists poked their heads out as Zach stepped in.

"Humans. Thank the maker." A woman stepped towards him with brown hair and nervous hands.

"Hurry. Close the door. Before they come back." A man whispered, walking slowly out of the shadows.

"Don't worry. We'll protect you." Zach reassured the two lucky survivors.

"Thank you. I think we'll be okay now. It looks like everyone's gone."

"You're Doctor Warren." Ashley noticed. "The one in charge of the excavation. Do you know what happened to the beacon?"

"It was moved to the spaceport this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp. When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide. They gave their lives to save us."

"No one is saved!" Manuel freaked out. "The age of humanity has ended! Soon only ruin and corpses will remain!"

"What else can you tell me about the attack?" Zach asked.

"It all happened so fast. One minute we were gathering our equipment; the next we were hiding in the shed."

"Agents of the destroyers! Bringers of darkness! Heralds of our extinction!"

"We could hear the battle outside: gunfire, screaming. I thought it would never end. Then it went quiet. We just sat here, too afraid to move. Then you showed up."

"Did you notice a turian in the area?"

"I saw him. The prophet. Leader of the enemy! He was here! Before the attack!"

"That's impossible." Kaidan stated. "Nihlus was with us before the attack. He couldn't have been here!"

"I'm sorry. Manuel's still a bit shaken up from the attack. We haven't seen your turian. We've been hiding in here since the attack."

"What can you tell me about the beacon?"

"It's some kind of beacon from a communications module. Very well preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery of our time. Miraculous new technologies. Groundbreaking medical advances. Who knows what's inside!"

"We have unearthed the heart of evil. Awakened the beast! Unleashed the darkness!" Manuel seemed to be getting more unstable by the second.

"Manuel, please! This isn't the time!" Dr. Warren spoke. Now Zach was feeling annoyed as well. And yet the face of one cheery Scotsman was returning to his mind.

"What's wrong with your assistant?" Zach asked, quickly getting back on track.

"Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he's always been a bit... unstable. Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin."

"Is it madness to see the future? To see the destruction rushing towards us?" Dr. Warren shook her head at his rambling. "To understand there is no escape; no hope?! No! _I_ am _not_ mad! I am the only _sane_ one left!"

"I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack."

_Well they're obviously not working since he's still standing here. _Zach though to himself before making a decision. "Say good night, Manuel."

"You cannot silence the truth! My voice must be heard-" The impact of Zach's fist knocked the man out cold.

"Oh, my God!" Dr. Warren squealed. "What did you do?!"

"That might've been a little extreme, Commander." Kaidan agreed. But Zach didn't care. Manuel finally shut up. And somewhere in the back of his mind, a Scotsman's laugh could be heard.

"You can't just go around whacking people in the head!"

"It was only a matter of time before he did something crazy... and dangerous."

"I suppose you're right. By the time he wakes up, the meds would've already kicked in."

"Williams, take us to the spaceport." Zach ordered, intent on reaching the beacon before the geth.

Nihlus made it to the spaceport, ducking behind a crate as he saw a figure moving around. Bringing his assault rifle up to target the figure, he quickly lowered it at the sight of his friend.

"Saren?"

The other turian turned around to face his friend. Pieces of metal held his mandibles close to his face. "Nihlus." He started walking towards his friend.

"This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?"

"The council thought you could some help on this one." He placed his hand on Nihlus's shoulder as he walked past him.

"I wasn't expecting to find the geth here. The situation's bad."

"Don't worry. I've got it under control."

Nihlus never realized the gun Saren had pulled out, and the bullet that came along with it.

Shepard heard the gunshot before he saw anything. running to the corner, he looked up to see a giant marvel leaving Eden Prime.

"What is that? Off in the distance!" Kaidan yelled.

"It's a ship!" Ashley answered. "Look at the size of it!"

Pulling his rifle off his back, Zach aimed down his sights, and hit an explosive tank next to two geth units. As more of the 'husks' and geth units came, the three fought through it all like an unstoppable team. No enemy survived the onslaught.

Running to the port, Kaidan noticed where the gunshot came from. "Commander. It's Nihlus." Zach examined the corpse of the spectre in front of him, and saw the wound on the back of the head. A bullet had definitely entered his skull.

A noise was made from somewhere, causing Ashley to point it out as Zach pulled out his Striker. A human in civilian gear came out with his hands raised, begging not to be shot.

"Sneaking up on us nearly got you killed."

"I'm sorry. I was hiding from those creatures." The man said as Zach lowered his gun. "My name's Powell. I saw what happened to that turian. The other one shot him."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"The other one was already here when your friend showed up. He called him Saren. I think they knew each other. Your friend seemed to relax. He let his guard down. Then Saren killed him. Shot him right in the back. I'm nust lucky he didn't see me behind the crates."

"Where'd Saren go after he killed Nihlus?"

"He jumped on the cargo train and headed for the other platform. Probably going after the beacon. I knew that beacon was trouble. Everything's gone to hell since we found it. First that damn mothership shows up. Then the attack. They killed everyone. Everyone! If I hadn't been behind the crates I'd be dead, too."

"How come nobody else tried to hide behind the crates?"

"They never had a chance. I... I was already behind the crates before the attack."

"Wait a minute,you were behind the crates _before_ the attack?" Kaidan asked.

"Sometimes, I need some rest in order to get through my shift. I sneak behind the crates fir fourty winks where the supervisors can't find me."

"You survived because you were _lazy_?!" Ashley snarled.

"If you hadn't snuck for that nap, you probably wouldn't be alive."

"Yeah. I don't even want to think about it."

Deciding he had enough talking to this person, he ended the conversation. "We need to find that beacon before it's too late!"

"Take the cargo train, that's where the other turian went! I can't stay here. I need to get away from all this."

Saren walked to the one geth unit in front of him guarding the beacon. Set the charges. Destroy the entire colony. Leave no evidence that we were here." The geth walked away to carry out its orders. Saren then approached the beacon, activating it. Seconds later, he was lifted in the air, recieving the secrets buried inside.

As the train pulled to a stop, the three of them noticed the bomb on the platform next to them. It was set to detonate in five minutes.

"Demolition charges! The geth must've planted them!" Kaidan ran to deactivate it, but Shepard beat him to it, starting the deactivation process as Ashley yelled that they needed to find them all. When it was deactivated, Zach ran up the stairs, across the bridge, through geth weapons fire, and to the second bomb. Realizing the two of them were on clean-up duty, Kaidan and Ashley started shooting and sabatoging the geth units shooting at Zach. Once the second bomb was deactivated, he ran at the enemy, spraying his bullets at the closest one. A shock trooper fired a carnage straight at him, taking out his shields.

"Damn it!" Zach yelled as he slipped into cover next to the third bomb. Ashley provided cover to Zach, terminating the shock trooper that took out his shields, and then focusing fire on the geth sniper aiming at Kaidan. When the field was clear, it took Zach five seconds to deactivate the last bomb.

"That's gotta be all of them." Ashley guessed.

"Agreed. Secure the area. Let's make sure there's no more geth."

Aboard the dreadnought again, Saren looked to the geth units surrounding him, intent on listening to the prophet of their new master, Nazzara. "Eden Prime was a major victory." he spoke, raising both his arm of flesh and his geth arm replacement. "The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit."

"And one step closer to the return of the reapers." A woman came walking up to Saren Arterius, a powerful Matriarch on his side that followed his command. The geth unit closet stared until Saren grabbed its attention.

"Set up outposts in the Armstrong Cluster. When the Reapers return, we must be able to push the Alliance into their hands. Do not fail me." The geth unit bowed, and communicated to its brethren to prepare for shuttle departure to the Armstrong Cluster, unaware of what was to happen to it in a matter of hours.

"Looks like we actually got them all." Kaidan said as he stared at the body of the husk he just killed. Zach walked towards the beacon, and Kaidan followed suite. As Zach called extraction, Kaidan studied the payload. "This is amazing! Actual working protbean technology! Unbelievable!"

"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it it up." Ashley commented. "Something must have activated it." Kaidan walked away to speak with Shepard, and Ashley approached it curiously.

The beacon started pulling Ashley close, and despite how much she struggled, she couldn't move. Zach noticed this, and moved to help her, pushing Kaidan out of the way, and diving for her when she was lifted up in the air. Having no other option, he chucked her aside. But before he could leave the beacon's influence, he was pulled up, hovering feet above the ground, catching horrifying images in his mind.

"Shepard!"

"No, don't touch him! It's to dangerous!"

The images continuously poured into his head. There was no way to stop the onslaught, the pain, the madness.

Until finally, he blacked out...

Thanks for reading this long chapter on Eden Prime. When I bring up the next chapter, I plan on diving away from canon for a bit to come up with some interesting events that you never see but hear about in the games. I also plan on bringing in some new characters during the next chapter, and some you may already know if you read my short story Mass Effect 3: Remembrance.

Anyway, reviews would be appreciated as they do help people become better writers. Thanks, until next time.


	3. Chapter 2: On My Own

Chapter 2: On My Own

Casbin, Four-hundred feet away from the geth outpost

Armstrong Cluster, 14:50 pm

Tali quickly took a check on her inventory of weapons. Her shotgun was equipped to her waist, and her pistol was in her hands. She had about three arc grenades given to her by her Aunt Shala; a gift from her father he was too busy to deliver himself, and seven tech proximity mines. Strapped to her boot was a combat knife, which she had extensive training to use in close quarters should her weapons overheat. Taking the arc grenades from the ammo box in her ship's hull compartment, she quickly hurried to catch up with the geth patrol she saw landing on the planet minutes before she landed her ship out of range.

After running for a matter of minutes (and shutting off her auditory filter to avoid making a sound) Tali reached the outpost with a fairly decent view of the surroundings. She could spot over a dozen geth units patrolling the grounds, as well as a geth prime unit in the center of the camp. However, one geth shock trooper was moving away from the others, heading near Tali's hiding spot. Hiding behind cover until the unit passed her, Tali pulled her knife out of her boot, preparing a hacking command off of her omni-tool as she approached the white mech.

When it stopped to look around at its surroundings, Tali launched the hack, and the unit temporarily shut down. Falling to its knees, the light in its optical sensor turned off, and Tali got to work. She ripped its chestplate open using her knife as a way to pry it open, and found her way to the memory core. However, the unit was finally starting up again, and was trying to wipe its memory clean.

_Bosh'tet_. Tali thought to herself as she worked faster. Prying the memory core out in one swift motion, Tali brought her knife up in the process and stabbed its central CPU, shutting it down permanently. As a measure of precaution, she took her knife and decapitated the geth's head, placing it in the satchel she was carrying.

Deciding there was time to do it now, Tali downloaded all the information off of the memory core to her omni-tool. Upon completion, she tossed it aside and pulled out her shotgun, completely certain the other units would take notice soon and attempt to find their fallen brethren. Moving slowly along the path, she viewed her surroundings in case a geth unit ambushed her from behind or above her. So far, everything was quiet.

Then she felt a hand grab her arm.

Turning around in defense, she ended up pointing her shotgun at a human, who pushed it away from his face as she realized he wasn't an enemy. The human was wearing full Alliance gear; the armor of the human military that Tali had only heard of in stories, and his face was covered by his helmet, which had the breather attached to it. Letting go of her arm, he brought up two of his four fingers to where his lips would be, and made a quiet sound that could only mean be silent. Pulling the assault rifle off his own back, he led Tali to the opening where the shock trooper had entered, and looked down the small scope attached to the gun. Handing it over to Tali, the man pointed at a spot of interest that Tali immediately took notice of.

No more than twenty meters away from their position, the geth had found Tali's ship and brought it to their outpost for investigation.

Turning back on her auditory filter, she handed the man his rifle back. "That's my ship. How did the geth find it?"

The man simply shrugged. He then pointed at Tali's knife, and gestured in some way that asked 'may I borrow it?' Deciding this man wasn't a direct threat to her, she handed him the knife gently, and he began to draw a picture in the sand. He first drew a triangle and pointed at her ship. He then made dots near the ship and pointed at the geth. Finally making two Xs, he waved a finger pointing at the two of them, and then drew lines to indicate the two of them would skirt around the camp silently and suprise the units near the ship.

"I understand. But my ship only has room for one. How will you get off-planet?"

The man only gave her a look that said it was not important. He then handed her an OSD that he pointed out was to go into one of her pockets, and then pointed at the Alliance symbol on his chest, which probably meant that it was to go to the Alliance.

"You don't think you'll be leaving this world, do you?"

The man only nodded slowly. He then got up and started moving on the left side of the encampment, leaving Tali no other choice but to go right. Taking an arc grenade off her belt, she held it between her two digits while she waited for the man's signal. When he tossed an explosive towards the two units closest to him, Tali tossed her own grenade at the four units closest to her. The resulting chaos that ensued was two units on fire and four completely deactivated.

Once the other geth units took notice, Tali and the soldier drew their guns upon the units running to the ship. One by one, each geth unit fell to Tali's shotgun and the soldier's rifle. Soon enough, though, Tali's shotgun overheated; a direct result of overuse and no time given to let the gun cool down. Sliding it back onto her magnetic clip, she pulled out her pistol and took out the ocular sensor on a geth shock trooper approaching the soldier with a geth plasma shotgun.

The soldier then signaled Tali to get to her ship. Understanding the soldier's gestures, Tali ran for the cockpit of the small fighter. Upon reaching it, she turned around to see more geth arriving from the geth transport dropping their platforms to the ground. The obvious shape of a geth prime popped up from one of the drop points. The soldier glanced at her one last time, motioning her to get out of here. Hoping to give him a chance to escape, Tali tossed the man her last two arc grenades as a sign of kindness and generosity towards this man's kindness towards her. Jumping into the cockpit, she flipped the controls on and closed the hatch. Her ship left the ground in a matter of seconds, flying as fast as the old engine could make it go.

Upon a hilltop, the infiltrator had a clear view of the battle. Holding onto his sniper rifle scarred from events prior to his current mission, he watched as the soldier slumped his rifle onto his back and picked up the quarian's grenades, which she had rolled to him given their proximity was only a small hill apart. Activating both at the same time, he threw them at two clusters of geth, deactivating them as he ran straight at the geth prime.

The infiltrator entertained the idea of shooting at the geth prime to assist the man; as he was once part of the Alliance until the accident six years ago, but his employer said this was an observation mission only. So he kept his finger off the trigger as he watched the prime strip the man of his shields with one rocket, and watched the explosion of the man's last incendiary grenade as he threw it at the geth. However, the man got hit by a second rocket in the process, ending his life as the prime shrieked a horrifying robotic sound before exploding into pieces.

The infiltrator shook his head and stared down at the scarring of his armor. Remembering the events of six years ago, he shuddered; so many dead, their bodies torn, blood in the grass, the body of his only female friend set up neatly with a gaping hole in her armor from the venom. Things like that would make a man crazy.

The infiltrator smiled. He was crazy before his death.

"Big Red to Mr. President. I have the update on the scouting mission. Over." The man's Scottish accent was full of humor, as if his insanity gave people the impression he was happy all the time... which he was.

_"Copy that, Big Red. What's your status?" _The voice of his new boss came over his radio.

"The purple iris has left the garden. Repeat: the purple iris has left the garden."

_"Very good. What's the status on Maine?"_

"Maine has fallen off the iceberg. Repeat: fallen off the iceberg."

_"That's too bad. The Alliance has lost a good soldier."_

"A good soldier? He was the Hero of Elysium! Stood against three thousand pirates, slavers, and mercs all by himself."

_"And he died ensuring the story moves along."_

"Could we probably-"

_"Do what I did for you? No. Your body was still relatively intact. His body is likely bits and pieces now, and despite all the power I hold, I can't just put a body back together after the damage the rocket caused."_

"How'd you know about the rocket?"

_"Have you already forgotten who you work for, Red?"_

Red smacked his head at his realization. "Right. Sorry. It just slipped my mind."

_"Your mission is done." _His boss said bluntly._ "There should be a door ten paces to your left. It'll take you back to my home."_

Red looked to his left to see a door. "Wow. That's a neat trick. Will you be back at HQ, or are you at one of our forwarding bases?"

_"I'm on Illium right now, waiting for the quarian. It is vital we get her away from Saren's assassins so she can hand over the information to your old friend."_ Red smiled at that fact. _"I'll fill you in on your next assignment when I return."_

"Aye, aye, Mr. President. Big Red out." Red shut off the comm and headed for the door, slinging his sniper rifle onto his back. When he opened it, a view of a blissful paradise came. He walked through and closed the door, temorarily leaving his own reality behind for the madness he enjoyed. When he was gone from Casbin, the door disentigrated out of existance.

As Tali's shuttle headed for the mass relay, she programmed the autopilot to take her to Illium in the Cresent Nebula. Taking slow breaths, she brought up her omni-tool, intent on finding out what she had recovered from the geth. Perhaps it was schematics to the geth's defense network on Rannoch; something they could use to reclaim their homeworld. If it was that, her father would definitely have been proud of her. She was disappointed, though, when she found out it was not something she'd find useful. An audio recording it was trying to delete. Even though it'd probably be useless electronic sounds, Tali played it out of boredom:

_"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit!"_

_"And one step closer to the return of the reapers."_

Tali froze as she heard those voices. The geth weren't known to associate with organics, and these two voices were definitely organic. The mentioning of Reapers also made her curious yet somehow also frightened. Searching through the other junk data she obtained from the core, she found out the geth revered the Reapers as gods, and that Saren would bring them back. Taking a guess that Saren was the first voice she heard, Tali felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She never heard a voice so menacing yet charismatic. It also didn't help that Saren was listed as a spectre in the files. That would be trouble for the galaxy if these "Reapers" returned, but it would be even more trouble for the quarians since the geth are involved.

_I need to get this to the authorities._ And she would. When she reached Illium, Tali would report to the authorities and hand the evidence over. Then she would find someone in Alliance Command to hand over the OSD to. After that, her pilgrimage still needed to be complete. She sat back and rested her head on the chair, knowing it would take a bit of time before her ship reached the Cresent Nebula.

Presidium Financial District, 0:00 am

Serpent Nebula; June 2, 2183

Barla Von stood in his office behind his desk, waiting for the bounty hunter he was to hire. The volus kept making the mechanical-sounding breaths from his suit; his turian bodyguard making slight movements of annoyance at the noises he made. He didn't care. He payed the man good money to keep him under guard. That was all that mattered.

The door opened to the sight of a krogan. This eight-foot-tall brute had the word red all over him; from his eyes, to his head plate, to the armor he was wearing. The krogan wore scars on his face from skirmishes Barla Von had no intention of finding out about, and the shotgun on his hip stated he was here for business.

"Welcome. I believe introductions are in order. Barla Von." He took a breath. "Financial advisor. I believe your name is Urdnot Wrex, correct?"

"The one and only." The krogan's voice was rough and coarse. "I got a message to meet you for a contract. Courtesy of the Shadow Broker."

"Correct. I am an agent for the Shadow Broker, and he is in need for your services." Again, he took a breath, making the turian cringe yet again. The krogan smiled at the turian's annoyance before Barla Von spoke again. "One of our agents has cut ties with my employer to work for Saren Arterius on what he believes will destroy the galactic community as we know it. We are paying you up front to eliminate Fist." He waved a hand and drew another breath as the turian sent a credit transfer to Wrex's account. "Fist owns the bar at Chora's Den. Eliminate him, and the Shadow Broker will pay you a bonus when the job is done."

Wrex gave the volus a menacing smile. "You've got yourself a deal."

Illium Markets, 1:17 am

Cresant Nebula; June 2, 2183

Tali walked around the empty markets of the street. It was nighttime on Illium, and most of the markets are closed. But the streets were silent; a strange change for the busy planet. She felt like she was being followed, so she flipped on her shields as she searched for the police station.

A boy with black hair walked up to her. "Excuse me, ma'am?" Tali looked at the boy who appeared out of the dark. He looked to be in his teens, and he had some bruises around his face and wrists. "Could you perhaps spare me some credits. My mom's sick and I was just robbed of all of my money by a couple of turian punks. I need twenty credits to pay for her medicine, and I just lost the two-hundred I got for this week's shift. Can you please help me? Everyone else has tossed me aside."

For some strange reason, Tali felt sympathy for the boy. Perhaps it was because he reminded her of how the quarians live on the flotilla fending for themselves. Maybe it was because she was a selfless person. Or it could have been the sad look in the kid's dark blue eyes; the look that says "I have seen the meaning of pain in this vision of the future of a city."

"Here you go. Fifty credits."

"Fifty? You-you're serious?"

"Yeah. I've still got plenty of credits left over." She had about seven hundred credits now; the best deal she could make with a turian she was selling her fighter to.

"I- there has to be some way I can repay you for this."

"That's okay. I don't need you to pay me back. Go get your mother's medicine. You should probably get something for your wounds as well." She pointed at the dark spots forming on his face.

"I'll be okay." The kid said. "All wounds heal over time. The pain's only there to remind us what we lost." And somehow, Tali found comfort in that. "You know, you're beautiful for a quarian."

"My suit?" Tali looked at her eviro-suit. She didn't really find anything attractive about it. It was just a black suit with a purple veil, and a mask with a purple visor that hid her face from existence. It felt like a prison to Tali to have to wear a suit because of her people's immune systems.

"Your suit's not what I'm talking about." He brought a finger up and hovered over her chest, careful not to touch her as if she was a statue of glass. "Your heart is what makes you beautiful. I don't need to see your mysterious face or look at your body to know you're beautiful. You possess a heart full of kindness and selflessness. Someone like you deserves to find a strong protector for your heart. Someone who'll guard you with his life; that will like you for your stengths, and not pay attention to the things you don't agree with. You will one day pass the beauty of your hearts to your daughters, and there will be many who will step up to protect them as your warrior protected you. I find you beautiful because you are a force of good in the dark corners of the galaxy. Don't ever let anyone say I'm wrong."

Tali let the boy's words sink in as he slowly walked away, waving goodbye and disappearing into an alley. What that boy said had caught her by surprise, both from his philosophy and from how the other races treat quarians. Right now, she was starting to believe humanity wasn't as she heard before. The humans she met so far were noble and selfless and kind, and that was just two humans. They didn't seem like bullies who pushed around the other races. She also started thinking about how humans were fairly similar to quarians in the way of their faces.

A pity no one could see that now.

Shaking the thought aside, she headed in the direction of the police station to hand over the evidence. However, her feeling that she was being followed returned after a bit. She looked to her right without moving her head, and saw two turians looking at her. Soon enough, they were following her. A human and a batarian came up behind them next, and a krogan finally stopped her dead in her tracks.

"This is the girl." One turian whispered.

"I'm not here for trouble." Tali tried to get away from them, but the krogan stepped in her way again, boxing her in.

"You're already in trouble. You have something that belongs to our employer. And whatever Saren wants, he gets." The krogan's words froze Tali in place as she realized just what she got herself into.

These men weren't here to rob her. They were here to kill her.

"Leave the girl alone." The thugs turned to face the same boy that had asked Tali for the credits moments ago. This time, the boy didn't hold a look of sadness or happiness. In his eyes was the emotion of anger and determination.

"Damn street urchin. Get your nose out of our business." The human yelled.

"I'm not going to say this again. Leave... her... alone."

The batarian stepped away from the group. "There's a load of us, and only you and your whore girlfriend. So piss off."

"You obviously don't remember how we kicked your asses on Elysium and Torfan. What makes you think I can't finish the five of you off with just one bullet?"

"What bullet? You don't have a gun."

The kid then threw a biotic push straight at the batarian, flinging him away from the group. The batarian's gun dropped on the floor, which was then picked up by the lone biotic.

"Durz, kill the little bastard while we kill the girl." The krogan headed for the kid while Tali quickly rolled away from the other three, leaving behind a proximity charge. When the three finally noticed, it went off in their faces, disabling their shields. However, the blast hadn't killed them, which meant Tali wasn't safe yet.

"Where are you, you little bitch?!" The human yelled before the sound of a singularity pulled him off his feet. Tali could see from her vantage point the kid was dodging the krogan while throwing biotic attacks at his friends. He wasn't even using the pistol equipped to his hip.

"This kid won't hold still!" The krogan yelled.

"Use your shotgun!" the other turian shouted.

"I can't! It's jammed!"

"What?!" The turians checked their weapons as the human fell from the collapsing singularity field. "How the hell did that little twerp do that?! All our guns are jammed!"

Tali checked her pistol to see if her gun had been jammed. surprisingly, it wasn't. She didn't remember using any sabotage programs before the fight because she was frozen in her tracks. That would leave the kid as the only possible conclusion.

_How _did_ he do that?! _Tali thought as she continued to watch. The krogan was charging right at him, but he went between the brute's legs, using his powers to push him into the sky before he pulled him back down. Hard. The sound of a broken neck could be heard in the small area they were in, and the blood rushing from the krogan's mouth confirmed he was dead.

"Care to join your friend?" The kid goaded his enemies, a look of ruthless calculation on his face. The turians snarled, pulling out two military-grade talons. The human joined in as well, pulling out a baton from his back pocket. They ran straight for him, but he whipped out another singularity, catching all three of them at once. He finished them off by destroying the unstable matrix with a warp attack.

"What are you?" Tali said as she walked away from her hiding place. She walked towards the boy, but was then grabbed by the batarian he had thrown at the start. Lifting her up in the air by her throat, he pulled out his own knife, covered in a rusty red color that could only be the blood of humans, and was ready to slit her throat; to revel in the pleasure of her lifeblood flowing on the streets.

He was stopped when his arm was grabbed by the boy, who then shoved his gun into the batarian's side and pulled the trigger. The batarian dropped Tali and crumpled to the floor, coughing up blood from the pain of his wound.

"One bullet." The kid said as he dropped down to be next to the batarian's face. "And one last thing-" he took the batarian's knife and shoved it through his chest. The scream of pain that left his lips was horrible. "Tali is not a whore. She's an innocent." He left the batatian to bleed to death. "I need to get you out of here."

As the boy walked away, Tali came back to reality from the horror of what the boy did to save her. "What did you do? You killed them! You killed them all!"

"I saved your life. If I hadn't done so, you would be dead." The boy's voice was returning to the nice tone that had complimented her.

"But you seemed like such a nice person, and then you were just acting like a completely different being. As if you were-"

"A guardian?" The boy's words stopped her questioning. "What you have to understand, Tali, is that I take it very seriously when innocents are threatened by the scum of the universe. I may have seemed cold when I fought them, but I am always nice to those I find deserve more than they have. You're one of those people, Tali."

"How do you even know my name?" she asked as she continued to follow him. "We didn't even exchange names when we conversed. And what is your name?" They stopped within view of a spaceport where an Elkoss Combine trading ship was parked.

"There's a batarian at the docks loading the shipment in. He'll allow you to tag along in the cargo hold to his trip to the Citadel if you can give him something of value." He pointed at the satchel Tali was still carrying. "That geth head in there should do the trick."

"How'd you-"

He brought a finger to her mouthpiece on the mask. "It's not important. What's important is that you get that data to the Citadel. From there, you'll find your guardian, even if he doesn't know it yet." He started to walk away.

"Wait! I don't understand!" Tali seemingly pleaded. Too much had been thrust upon her tonight that she had become confused and afraid of who she would run into next.

"You will." He disappeared into the shadows. "Consider our debt repayed." And then there wasn't another sound to be heard.

Tali decided that she would just have to trust this nameless human, and she started running to the dock. Sure enough, a lone batarian was stocking crates marked with the Elkoss Combine logo in the cargo hold. When he noticed Tali approaching, he stopped and walked out of the ship.

"Hold it! This is a private dock. Nobody's supposed to be on here."

"I need to get to the Citadel." Tali quickly stated. "It's important."

The batarian crossed his arms over his chest. "You didn't steal anything, did you?"

"No! But I found something some people are trying to kill me for. I need to get to the Citadel to give this to the authorities."

The batarian looked around to see if any of his superiors were in the area. "Look, I don't just give free rides to anybody. Especially not suit rats." He quickly raised his hands. "_But_ that's only what I'm supposed to say when the boss is around. My shipment's heading for the Citadel. You want a ride, you're going to have to give me something valuable as payment."

Tali opened her satchel. "How about this geth head I decapitated off a geth unit?"

The batarian took it from her small hands and analyzed it. He then smiled. "That'll work. I could probably turn it into a desk lamp during my free time." He waved a hand for Tali to follow him, and he led her to the back of the cargo hold, opening a small panel on a crate. "This is a secret smuggling compartment I use for high-profile customers. It ain't first class, but it'll keep you safe from the other workers while we fly to the Citadel. I'll pull you out when the other workers have left the docking bay, and then you're on your own."

"Thank you." Tali entered the compartment and made herself comfortable, and the batarian came with a small box.

"Here. In case you get hungry." Tali opened the box to find two silver rods; one marked as a sterilized dextro-nutrient paste and the other purified water. "We usually have a few quarians patching up our ships, so we offer them meals so they can continue to do a good job. Help yourself if you get hungry during the trip. Just don't make any loud noises." He then closed the hatch, leaving Tali alone in the dark.

_What have I gotten myself into? _Tali thought as she turned off her auditory filter yet again to keep quiet. Setting the food aside, Tali decided to fall asleep, allowing her fatigue and tiredness to overcome her in the darkness of her shelter.

As the ship departed, the boy stared at the dock from the safety of the crates he hid behind. When the ship was well out of range, the boy's appearance slowly started to change, turning from a bruised and poor teenage human boy to that of a young man, wearing a business suit with hair black as night and blue eyes so dark the earth could be seen within them. He raised a hand up to where the ship disappeared to, and uttered a phrase:

_"Just keep my mind burning strong, into the gaping emptiness I go on my own."_

Thanks for reading the next chapter in Zach Shepard's legacy. I took some time with this chapter because I wanted to make something good and focused more around Tali. Also, if you've read Mass Effect 3: Remembrance, you'll remember I bluntly introduced a character made to be comedic relief. I decided to give him a real introduction as to give you a real reason on why he is here (if I haven't accomplished that yet, just say so guys). Also, if anything has confused you in this chapter (which something must have), feel free to pm me or mention it in a review, where I shall try to explain away your confusion (which is a favorite past time of mine).

Also, two quick shoutouts. One to Zalgroth, who is writing his own story, The Painted Grey, which is a non-canon fan story based around the original storyline. Most of the stuff he comes up with is excellently written, and he definitely should get more praise. My second shoutout is to ProjektNemesis7, and while he hasn't written any of his own stories (which he should try if he hasn't already) he's followed this story and given me quick reviews of what he likes (Keep doing it and I'll try updating faster, although I can't promise you anything). You guys rock!

Until next time, my biotic followers.


	4. Chapter 3: From Nightmare To Delusion

Chapter 3: From Nightmare to Delusion

_Death. Destruction. All of this Zach could see clearly through his nightmare. Everything was flashing too fast for him to completely visualize this dark vision in front of him. Shades of red flashed Zach's eyes as he was forced to watch this maddening message. He wondered how long this vision had been playing in front of him. Seconds? Minutes? Time was an illusion in the realm of dreams. For all Zach knew, it had been an eternity since being granted this nightmare._

_Finally, it was all over._

_Zach fell to his knees, coughing profusely as he tried to regain control of his body. Shaking uncontrollably, Zach raised his head up slightly to see two red boots walking towards him._

_"Well, I see you're finally done fidgeting around after watching that strange horror flick." The Scottish accent of his old friend could be heard through the covered helmet he wore. "I thought it would never end."_

_"Red?" Zach asked the figure in his dreams._

_"Only in your head, buddy." While Red wore his helmet, Zach could swear his friend was grinning like an idiot. "I've come to free you from your nightmare."_

_"Well, I guess I'm glad to see you." He extended his hand out, and Red assisted him back up on his feet._

_"Wanna take a walk?" Red pointed his thumb towards the forest behind him. When Zach caught sight of the trees, he took a step back._

_"I can't go there."_

_"Why? You're afraid your girlfriend's going to try and kill you?"_

_"We weren't dating, Red." Zach's tone only made Red laugh._

_"Liar, liar. Armor's on fire." Red started laughing uncontrollably, to which Zach punched his arm. "Oooooooowwwsssswwwwwwww!" Zach could only shake his head and smile at his old friend's sarcasm. "You're such a bastard! That hurt!"_

_"Suck it up, soldier. I've done worse to people twice as tough as you, Red."_

_"I know. But I like to make you laugh. Look, your girlfriend is not in that forest, so there's nothing to be afraid of."_

_"I already told you, she wasn't my girlfriend. And I'm not scared of what's in there."_

_Red only shook his head. "I may be an idiot, but I'm not stupid. You keep having nightmares back there; nightmares that involve the repeated deaths of everybody six years ago. But the worst nightmares you have are of Jess continuously dying a thousand horrible deaths. Sometimes even her trying to kill you. But I promise you, there ain't nothing scary in the forest now. Not when you've got your pal Red."_

_"How do you know there's nothing to fear in there? How do you know what nightmares I have when I'm in there?"_

_"I was your friend, remember?"_

_"Yeah. And you died like everyone else."_

_"Perhaps. But does that mean I'm gone? Does it mean I'm no longer your friend? Or is the fact I'm here mean I came to grant you peace from at least one nightmare?" Zach pondered at his old friend's words for what the dream could only dismiss as an eternity before Red spoke again. "Sometimes we must take a breath and accept there are no roads left but one."_

_"I guess even the fool is right once." Zach glumly agreed._

_"Then let's go for a walk." Red said cheerfully as he walked straight towards the forest. Deciding that he would at least enjoy the time he had with the friend he made on those fateful few days, he joined him._

_"I swear to God, Red, if she jumps out of the trees or anything-"_

_"She won't. I can't be in the same place as she is. And since I'm with you, she wouldn't dare come near you."_

_"Because you really didn't make a good first impression with her?" Zach joked._

_"How was I supposed to know she didn't liked being spied on? I just wanted to get to know her."_

_"You followed her into the showers, Red."_

_Red smacked his helmet and grunted, making Zach smile at his old friend's stupidity. It was still strange how the two of them became friends in that short period of time before the incident, and Zach wasn't sure anyone could come close to the humor Red could bring to a conversation._

_"She still was kind of a nice lady... in the "I'll kick your ass and throw you a band-aid" kind of way." Red continued. "I don't understand why you'd give up a girl like that. Ironic, considering she gave her life for-"_

_"Let's stop the conversation there." Zach interrupted. "I don't want the rest of the past ruining this."_

_"Okay." Red dropped the conversation. It was quiet for a few minutes before the infiltrator started singing. "'I walk a lonely road; the only one that I have ever known. I don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk-'" He stopped for a second. "'With my best friend!'"_

_Zach and Red started laughing, but stopped when another voice could be heard laughing._

_"Did you hear that?" Zach asked._

_"What? The feminine laugh that totally didn't belong to your girlfriend?"_

_"She wasn't my- let's just shut up and listen." After standing still for a few seconds holding their breaths, the laugh could be heard again._

_"Yep. Definitely feminine. Wearing some kind of mask or helmet- or both; I can never tell which. And she's definitely young; maybe twenty-two or twenty-three."_

_"That's surprisingly observant for a delusion."_

_"What? I wasn't as observant when I was your friend?" Red flinched as he spotted a flash of purple._

_"What is it?"_

_"I saw something move over there." He pointed at a spot of clearing in their forest of dreams. Zach stared in that direction, and sure enough, he saw someone in purple run away._

_"Wait!" He shouted, running to follow the new figure before he lost it. Red followed his friend to where they ran, passing trees of oak and spruce slowly being covered with the first snowfall. For Red, the sight was so magical; for Zach, it delayed the inevitable darkness that appeared here in his nightmares._

_Both men stopped as they reached a small path that led to a light shining brightly; the outline of the purple figure being seen in the middle._

_"Sorry, Shepard." Red apologized as he backed away. "I can't go any further. It's curtain call. The curtains are about to be raised, and the dream is to end. Go towards the light. Find the figure in the sun. Continue with your destiny."_

_"What are you talking about, Red?"_

_"You'll have to face your nightmares if you are to ever find true rest. I know you can do it, buddy! I'll try to visit again some time, but my schedule's getting kind of full! See you later!" The red man turned around, singing his cheery heart out as Zach focused more on the purple figure. Deciding there was nothing else to do, he walked to the purple shape, now forming into the image of a woman. But before he could discover who it was, the light engulfed him, and he felt his body's eyelids open._

Ashley had been in the med bay for almost as long as the commander had been knocked out. She opened her eyes from her quick nap and saw that Shepard was still asleep. She sighed and stood up, walking to the table where he lay. Through all this time, Ashley had plenty of time to observe the man who lay in front of her. From what she had seen, he had golden hair; cut short to be close to an average military haircut but long enough to have something covering his head. His skin tone was even between tan and pale, and the man had relatively no scars the eye could see. Across his cheeks and chin was the outline of a recently trimmed beard; something that was seemingly covered up when he had worn a helmet on Eden Prime. It was only when he opened his eyes that she saw the dark blue irises floating in his milky white eyes; eyes that seemed to carry some kind of sadness, as if he's seen death and survived with guilt weighing him down.

It was then she realized he was waking up.

"Doctor! Doctor Chakwas! I think he's waking up!" Shepard got up from his laying position; trading it for a sitting position as he placed a hand upon his head. Soon enough, Chakwas walked from her spot at the desk behind them and in front of the man.

"You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?"

Shepard only shook his head. "Minor throbbing. Nothing serious. How long was I out?"

"About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon, I think."

"It's my fault." Ashley spoke. "I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way."

"Where's the beacon now? What happened to it?" The man ordered.

"The beacon exploded. Some kind of system overload. The blast knocked you cold. The Lieutenant and I carried you back to the ship."

The commander shook his head before facing the doctor. "What's the damage, doctor?"

"Physically, you're fine. But I detected some unusual brain activity; abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement. Signs typically associated with intense dreaming."

As Shepard switched to a leaning position on the table, his eyes flashed a hidden spark of horror. "I saw..." he paused. "I'm not sure what I saw. Death. Destruction. Nothing's really clear."

_Death and destruction? We sure as hell got it back on Eden Prime. _Ashley's thoughts quickly returned to Owen, but she shoved them aside as fast as they came through. She wasn't going to think of that traitor, no matter how sincere he was to her before the attack.

"Hmm. I better add this to my report. It might-" The doctor stopped talking as the captain entered the medical wing. "Oh, Captain Anderson."

"How's our XO holding up?"

"Well all the readings look normal. I'd say the Commander's going to be fine."

"Glad to hear it." The old soldier turned his attention to the commander. "Shepard, I need to speak to you. In private."

Ashley immediately got the message and saluted her new superior officer. "Aye, aye, Captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me."

Zach watched as the woman on Eden Prime left with the doctor to leave him alone with his Captain; a man he felt he can relate to as they both felt lucky to have survived the events that changed their lives. However, Anderson's past made him a hero, and Zach's own past had made him a survivor who felt he did not deserve his continued life.

The small dream that preluded this meeting made him think he needed to let go of the fatalistic view he held right now.

"Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. Are you sure you're okay?"

_Let's see, a crew member is dead, I'm pissed off at the geth, and there's a woman onboard that I only rescued almost sixteen hours ago staring me in the face as I awake from a particularly strange dream involving my dead friend, who likely was dropped on his head as a kid. Which one should I start with?_

"I don't like soldiers dying under my command." Zach stated glumly, remembering the fate of Jenkins as his life was cut short.

"Jenkins wasn't your fault. You did a good job, Shepard."

"Chief Williams isn't part of the Normandy crew." Zach stated, remembering moments ago how close to his face the soldier had gotten.

"I figured we could use a soldier like her. She's been reassigned to the Normandy."

"Williams is a good soldier. She deserves it."

"Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you. That's why I brought her onboard."

"Intel dropped the ball, sir. We had no idea what we were getting into. That's why things went to hell!" There was no denying the anger laced within those words.

"The geth haven't been seen outside the veil in nearly three centuries. Nobody could've predicted this. I won't lie to you, Shepard. Things look bad. Nihlus is dead, the beacon was destroyed, and geth are invading. The council's going to want answers."

Zach had heard of the council, and how so far the only members were the turians, asari, and salarians. They were the average politicians; stick up the ass and all, holding only their selfish notions in order to have the galaxy follow their agenda. Zach wasn't in the mood to deal with any political b.s. right now.

"I didn't do anything wrong, Captain. Hopefully the councilors can see that."

The old man shook his head. "I'll stand behind you and your reports, Shepard. You're a damned hero in my books. That's not why I'm here. It's Saren. That _other _turian. Saren's a spectre; one of the best. A living legend. But if he's working with the geth, it means he's gone rogue. A rogue spectre's trouble. Saren's dangerous, and he hates humans."

"Why?"

"He thinks we're growing to fast; taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way. Most of them don't do anything about it. But Saren has allied himself with the geth. I don't know how. I don't know why. I only know it had something to do with that beacon. You were there just before it exploded. Did you see anything? Any clue as to what Saren wanted with it?"

Zach adjusted himself, feeling uncomfortable about what he experienced. However, he felt at least Anderson deserved the whole story. "Just before I lost consciousness, I had some kind of vision."

That caught Anderson's attention. "A vision? A vision of what?"

"I saw synthetics- geth maybe- slaughtering people. Butchering them."

"We need to report this to the council right away."

But Zach wasn't convinced that would help at all. "What are we going to tell them? I had a bad dream?" While he said it as a joke, the grim reality is that was usually how most of his dreams are.

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon: lost prothean technology, blueprints to some ancient weapon of mass destruction. Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren. I know his reputation; his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war. He has the secrets to the beacon, he has an army of geth at his command, and he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy."

"I'll find some way to take him down." The look of determination set in as he wanted to take action against Saren.

"It's not that easy." Anderson pointed out. "He's a spectre. He can go anywhere; do almost anything. That's why we need the council on our side."

Zach saw Anderson's point. Unless they can prove Saren's guilt, trying to fight him would be futile. "We prove Saren's gone rogue, and the council will revoke his spectre status."

"I'll contact the ambassador, and see if we can set a meeting up with the councilor. He'll want to see us when we reach the Citadel. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us in to dock." The Captain headed for his cabin while Zach stifled a yawn and headed for the cockpit, thinking about the dream of his friend leading him to chase the purple figure he could not figure out who or what it was.

_Back in the land of dreams, Red walked out of the Animation Chamber, smiling behind his breather helmet as he saw his boss, The Stranger, approaching him._

_"Nice look, boss. Digging the Alucard attire and haircut. All you need are the shades and fangs, and you'd be legendary."_

"The Alucard look was an accident, Red. How'd your assignment fare?"

_"It went brilliant. Shepard chased after her slender figure as much as I chase after those giant chocolate chip cookies in the Land of Sweet Dreams. They literally are sweet."_

"Focus, Red."

_"Sorry. Anyways, I gave him the message clearly: dream better dreams. If the purple figure can't help him when she joins his crew; as you had stated in that long board meeting last week when Zeta visited, then I'm afraid my friend is going to become as insane as I am. At least I can stand myself. I don't know if I could stand an insane Shepard. Think of the possibilities! He could end up like Stark; gone crazy after Shepard killed his brother. Or he could end up like you; always moping about that same cursed woman. How is it she had so many forms?"_

"That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about your mission, which appears to have been a success. Good work."

_"Right. Thanks, Boss. I'm going to head to the training complex. Maybe that Darsan guy's there. Though I'm not really sure how he reached us. Ah, well. At least the guy can give me a challenge. Shame he's stuck in jail right now, but at least he keeps his game face on-"_

"Red! Getting too much off topic."

_"Right. Sorry. I'm gonna go now." And just like that, the man cloaked himself and ran away, leaving his master to ponder on the unfortunate events that were to play out not just for Commander Zach Shepard, but for the Shepard that could only be refered to as Eta._

"Another day performing the master's duty." _Was all he could say before departing the very spot where he stood._

If you've managed to read this far, you've probably realized by now that there is a hidden story inside of my story. Sad to say, I cannot speak of what is going on behind the legacy or what other part Red has to play besides being the dead idiot friend of Shepard. However, if you hold enough patience and watch for the clues, you will soon discover just what secrets hide behind my Shepard's story, as 'The Stranger' in fact seemingly assists in guiding the story along, as you have seen and will see in the stories to come. However, don't assume he is the master of the story, just as Vendetta said the reapers were not the masters of the pattern in ME3. But until we reach beyond ME3, I'll be focusing on the actual storyline and only give subtle parts to the characters I have added to the Mass Effect universe. Point out in a review or pm if it gets a little repetitive at times to see them just 'pop up' as I don't want to make their involvement completely ruin the story.

As for the continued mentioning of Stark, I'll be bringing him in soon after the events on Nepheron, as the Hades's Dogs quest will be part of the storyline. So until next time, keep waiting for Zach Shepard's story to progress. And entertain yourself if I take too long. I'm sure I won't be releasing another chapter too soon.


	5. Chapter 4: Enter Henry Stark

Chapter 4: Enter Henry Stark

Citadel Presidium, 8:23 am

Serpent Nebula; June 3rd, 2183

Tali started walking into the presidium silently as she looked for the council embassies. Right now, she was on a part of the presidium where markets were available to buy and sell the numerous goods that came and went. Tali had gotten away from her transport safely without any trouble from the other workers, so she felt her luck holding so far. The only problem was the countless people staring as she walked through exploring. Tali had been warned that many people saw the quarians as little more than second-class citizens that did not belong in the galactic society. Now she was seeing the proof first-hand.

She stopped near an office complex to look up at the artificial sky of the presidium, marveling its beauty and wondering how anyone on the Citadel had ever designed it. Soon after, she started thinking on how she wished she could look at the sky of her home world instead of the cold metal walls of the flotilla; a dream that seemed farther away from becoming reality as each day passed.

Her thoughts were interrupted at the sound of a gun shot.

Trying to avoid the bullet that had been aimed at her back, Tali felt it skim her arm, sending signals up her nerves as the polonium round started affecting her skin. The section seals closed up to avoid any more infection, but the blood of her arm was still flowing from her wound.

"Damn it!" Tali cried as she heard her pursuer, a turian with a dark skin tone, curse for his failure to end the quarian's life. Upon that realization, Tali's instincts told her to run for her life, and her legs picked themselves up.

Despite the threatening pain, Tali activated her shields quickly in case the turian got another shot off. For now, he was only pursuing her, jumping past a volus who stood in his way. Paying attention to what was ahead of her, Tali jumped off a ledge and slid to the next level down, running towards her possible exit to freedom.

Walking past the elevator in the small hallway was the Butcher of Torfan, Henry Anthony Stark. In his hands was his signature knife in its sheath, the very same knife used to slaughter three-hundred batarians in cold blood. But it wasn't because Stark was a monster as the Alliance pointed it out as.

The blade literally called for blood.

He had noticed it when he aquired the weapon itself. When he had taken his first life with that weapon, he heard its cry for more blood. He satisfied it ruthlessly on Torfan, when his anger towards the batarians for what happened to his parents on Mindoir was released. Every other mission where taking a life was required, the knife became satisfied for only a short time. He didn't understand how an inanimate object such as his knife could want so much blood, but he didn't care. It got the job done.

It just never wanted to slit the one throat Stark wanted most.

His thoughts were interrupted as he bumped into someone. As he looked down, he saw a young quarian staring up at him, her eyes the only thing he could see behind that mask they were trapped behind. He saw the terror in them, but it must not have been from him. He smiled casually and stared down to see her own knife strapped to her boot.

"Nice knife. I bet it's sturdy enough to match my own." He showed it off to the girl, but ensured she understood he wasn't going to use it on her. "Don't worry. My bitch isn't thirsty for your blood. And I have no intention of hurting a scared woman."

"I don't have time for small talk, whoever you are!" the quarian snapped at him. "I'm being chased by an assassin and I need to get to the embassies! It's a matter of galactic security!"

"I believe you." Stark said, knowing how fear can tell the truth more than any other expression. "What's the asshole look like?"

"Turian. Dark skin tone. White tatooes. Black clothes. The pistol in his hand gives him away."

Stark nodded at this answer. "The embassies are up that stairwell behind me." He pointed a thumb at the stairwell entrance. "You get going. I'll handle your pursuer." The smile on his face was a cold one that made the quarian run as fast as she could. He no longer cared what others thought of him. He did his duty and always got the job done.

Hiding his knife in his jacket unsheathed, he waited until the turian came. The quarian's description fit the assassin, and Stark hid all emotion as the turian looked around for his target.

"You! Human!" The turian yelled to Stark. "Have you seen a quarian? That little thief's stolen something important from my employer, and I need to get it back."

The sadistic smile returned to Stark's face. "Quarian? You mean the one I killed in that alley there?" With his free hand, he pointed at a small space in the walls that led to one of the keeper tunnels. It was big enough to be called an alley despite the fact that was not what it was used for.

"You killed the quarian?" The turian started walking to the small opening, hoping to find the dead body of his target. Instead, he felt only the sharp metal of Stark's knife as it slowly passed by his throat, slitting open past the jugular vein. Grabbing at his throat, the turian struggled to breathe but instead collapsed on the ground; his life blood pouring out to form a pool of blue blood.

Stark took his knife and cleaned it off the pant leg of his latest kill. Reaching around the blood pool, he grasped the turian's arm and activated his omni-tool, opening a connection as Stark transfered all data to his own omni-tool to analyze later. He then looked at his knife, now clean from its bloodshed.

However, the knife wasn't screaming for vengeance.

This confused Stark as the blade was a tool for his revenge on the batarians for murdering his parents. Yet it was already satisfied of its bloodshed. And the blade hadn't wanted revenge on Shepard when his brother died seven years ago. Why?

Whatever the reason, Stark set his thoughts aside for the time being, and walked away from the scene of his latest kill.

As the Normandy headed straight towards the Exodus Cluster's mass relay, Ashley and Kaidan headed for the bridge to join Shepard, who had left almost after he awoke from his extended nap. Ashley had never met anybody like Shepard before. She saw him in action as he went up against the geth. He seemed to fight with some kind of collective fierceness; resilient yet restrained, as if he didn't like killing his enemies but did it because it was his job. It was interesting to her, and she found that quality of the man attractive strangely.

As for Kaidan, he was a vague reminder of Owen. They both had impressive biotics, both had good looks, and their choice in weapons were the same. Their only difference was their loyalty, apparantly, as Owen abandoned the 212th in their fight to defend the colonists from the attack.

Worse, Owen had abandoned her.

While she would've followed regulation on the rules of fraternization, Owen's constant affection he obviously stated towards her was flattering. And Owen was very attractive to say the least. But Ashley needed a man who was going to stand by her side through everything she was to go through in her career. Owen wasn't there when she was attacked on Eden Prime.

But Shepard was.

"So how do you like the Normandy so far, Williams?" the leutienant broke her away from her thoughts.

"It's a nice ship. Sure would like to see her in action."

"I'm sure we will." he smiled at her.

Just as they reached the bridge, the Normandy had cleared the mass relay and was approaching the Citadel. In the position Ashley was in, she could see a massive asari dreadnought flying by them. No ship in the alliance fleet could be compared in size to the massive feat of engineering.

"Look at the size of that ship?" Shepard joined her to look at the view outside the window. A wide smirk came across the man's face. Ashley found it funny. Shepard didn't seem the kind of guy that'd smile.

"The Assencion. Flagship of the Citadel fleet." Kaidan added.

"Well, size isn't everything." Joker commented.

"Why so touchy, Joker?" Ashley teased.

"I'm just saying you need firepower, too."

And firepower that thing had. "Look at that thing! Its main guns can rip through any ship in the Alliance Fleet!" Ashley pointed out.

"Good thing it's on our side, then." Kaidan chimed back in. As Joker called for docking clearance, Shepard had started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Ashley asked her new Commander.

"I'm grabbing my armor."

"Why?"

"I tend to be prepared. You never know what cutthroat might appear out of a dark place to kill you. So I carry all of my stuff around in public."

"Is that really necessary?" Kaidan asked.

"No one said you had to join me. You wanna go without your armor, that's fine. But I'm going with my gear." Shepard then walked towards the stairwell. Ashley looked towards Kaidan, and the man shrugged his shoulders.

"Let's go join him." Ash said, shaking her head at her commander's irationally-smart tactic.

Near the Citadel Embassies, C-Sec agent Garrus Vakarian was walking towards the Council chamber elevator in order to add his evidence on Saren to the investigation towards the attack on Eden Prime. He just had one problem: he had no evidence. After hours of digging through unclassified sources, there was no real evidence Saren was involved in the attack in any way. This really pissed him off, seeing that he saw the strange ruthlessness inside of him that was well hidden by his charasmatic act. If only he could find some solid evidence...

Garrus stopped walking as he heard a woman's voice. There was definitely an auditory filter over it, so the woman was obviously a quarian. Coming in closer to investigate, he saw the quarian speaking to the turian clerk of the embassies. It also sounded as if she was crying.

"Please," she cried. "I have evidence the council can't ignore. Their agent Saren is working with-"

"Get out of here, suit rat, before I have C-Sec throw you off." This pissed off Garrus as it sounded as if the quarian had what he was looking for.

"I beg you! I'm being hunted by assassins! I need-" Garrus then saw the clerk push her down on the ground.

"Hey!" Garrus yelled at the clerk, his mandibles twitching profusely.

"C-Sec. Good. Toss this suit rat off the station." But before Garrus could even say "no", the quarian started to run away. "Hey! Get back here!"

"Wait!" Garrus called out too late as she disappeared. Garrus looked back at the clerk, his anger building up.

"You were supposed to arrest her, you incompitent-" Garrus punched the clerk in the face, blood pouring out of his mouth as he fell.

"You asshole! That woman had the evidence I needed! But you just had to let her get away. Now I'm stuck with nothing." He then walked away, ignoring the hollow threats the clerk was screaming at him.

As Tali ran for the elevator near the entrance she came through, she saw the body of the assassin that was chasing her. His blood was all around his lifeless corpse; no doubt a direct result of the human with the knife she ran into. Backing away from the corpse, she headed for the elevator, intent on not taking the blame for the atrocity commited for her salvation. The elevator doors closed behind her, bringing her down to the wards level. Before she reached them, however, she began crying again. At first, she had cried because of the pain in her arm, which had slowly died down to a numb feeling. She knew she was also running a fever, but her suit was regulating her body temperature by cooling her off. Now she was crying because she was confused about everything; how she had gotten into this mess, why it had to be her, and most of all, she was confused of her opinion of humans.

The boy on Illium was nice to her, yet he fought off the assassins with his biotics as if he was trained by an asari matriarch. Then this man she recently ran into seemed ruthless, and it was proven by the assassin's lifeless corpse, completely drained of his blood. Then there was the silent alliance soldier, and he saved her life on Casbin, giving her information he believed he wouldn't be able to give to his leaders himself. She only had three examples of humans right now, but even so, she still couldn't figure out her own opinion on the species all together.

The doors opened, and she straightened herself out, deciding to search for a doctor to fix her wound. However, she scanned the crowd, hoping to not find another assassin coming after her. When she was sure no one was following her, she found a clinic near the end of the wards. When the door opened, a human woman with reddish-brown hair turned to face her. At first, Tali thought she'd yell at her to leave, but changed her mind as she saw her facial expression change to worry.

"Oh, my dear! What happened to you?"

"Gunshot." Tali answered, the effects of the fever messing with her voice. "I was shot by an..." Tali started stumbling as she walked closer, but she was caught by the doctor before she fell to the floor.

"We need to patch you up. There's no telling what contaminants could've gotten into your suit." She brought her over to an operating table, having her lay down so she could get a better look at her arm. "I'll need to disinfect this before I can use the medigel. There's no telling what could happen with your immune systems the way they are."

"How do you know so much about..." Tali mumbled as she felt the doctor rub dextro- amino antiseptic on her arm. She had also unsealed the section seals in order to work on the damage somehow.

"I've been trained on handling medical care on numerous species. Trust me. I know what I'm doing." The smile on her face was enough to convince Tali she was in good hands.

"Thank you, miss..."

"Dr. Michel." The doctor replied. "And you are?"

"My name's Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"Well, can you tell me what happened? Who shot you?"

"An assassin was chasing me. He shot my arm, but some other human got to him and killed him. I saw the body as I ran here."

"What did this other human look like?"

"He was tall, black hair and cold dark eyes. I could've sworn I saw the face of death in them. He was that terrifying!" There was a possibility Tali was also hallucinating from the fever, but her description was as acurate as she could make it.

"I think you might've run into the Butcher of Torfan, Tali." The doctor said grimly.

"Who's that?" Tali asked as she felt the doctor apply medigel to her arm.

"He's a tragic figure. He lost his parents when our colony of Mindoir was attacked by batarian slavers. He killed their leader with his own knife; a trophy he now carries with him everywhere. He later used it to kill hundreds of batarians on Torfan. His entire squad had been killed because he made a bad call, so he used his knife to slit every batarian throat in sight. He's a ruthless killer, and not a great example towards humanity."

"Who is a great example towards humanity, then? So far, I've only met you, him, some alliance soldier that didn't speak to me, and some kid on Illium who saved my life."

"Well, there's Maine. He's the Hero of Elysium. Stood against an entire army by himself, leading some civilians to control defense mortars. They even say he got shot in the throat, but he applied medigel and continued fighting. He lost his ability to speak, but he never really talked to begin with."

"I think I might have met him, then. He saved my life on Casbin."

"What were you doing there?" Dr. Michel asked curiously.

"I can't say. It's too sensitive to get you any more involved in this."

"Sounds like you've got a secret someone doesn't want getting out."

"And I need to hand this secret over to someone who can use it." Then she needed to find someone in the Alliance to pass who she now thought was this Hero of Elysium's OSD to. It was definitely a long day for her.

"Perhaps we can get you in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker. He could help you." She placed a patch onto her suit where the gunshot went through. "There. We've taken care of one problem for you. Your suit is patched up and your wound has been cleaned and healed." She went to a cabinet and pulled out a long, narrow tube of some kind. "This will also help with your fever. It's some sterilized medicine that can help die the fever down." Sbe handed the rod to Tali, and she inserted it through her emergency induction port, drinking the miracle liquid dry.

"How much do I owe you?" Tali asked, reaching for her satchel to pull out her credits. But the doctor shook her head.

"That won't be necessary. The medicine alone costs one thousand credits, and it looks like you'll be needing as much money as you can."

"Are you sure?" Tali asked.

"Absolutely. Let's just contact Fist, and you can be on your way."

Tali got off the table, feeling a little better because of the miracle medicine. "Thanks. I'm feeling much better now." And she knew soon enough, she just might be free from all of this insanity she got herself dragged into.

Back in his hotel room, Stark ran through the info he took off of his latest victim, the assassin who failed to reach his quarian target. He read through his orders; seeing Saren Arterius put a bounty out for the quarian's head, and an even larger bounty out for Commander Zach Shepard. That last part made Stark grasp the handle of his blade even tighter. As much as he wanted his old rival dead, he wasn't going to let him die by the hands of some low-life assassin working for a spectre-gone rogue. Not when be wanted to kill him himself.

But his blade didn't want to.

Stark couldn't understand why his blade couldn't let Shepard die from the cold steel forged from the fires of batarian smiths on Kar'Shan, their homeworld. Ever since he grasped its handle on Mindoir all those years ago, it allowed him to revel in his vengeance against every being who had ever hurt him. Yet Shepard has never been taken care of for his betrayal.

Robert deserved justice for his murder.

But the bitch wouldn't allow it. No matter how many times he tried the blade never even acknowledged his anger towards Shepard. It was annoying. His blade could easily slide through the plating of his rival's explorer heavy armor; unlike his shotgun, which wouldn't pierce through Shepard's stronger shields. But the blade just didn't want to do it.

Deciding he was done thinking about the trophy he carried, he decided to fall asleep dead drunk in his bed like he did every month after he got payed. Something he never understood was why he was still with the alliance after all of the shit he had been through and done at the same time. Drinking straight from the bottle of '47 Thessia Red, he removed his boots and sat back on his bed, falling asleep with thoughts of the inevitable vengeance he would have on Shepard.

Whether the blade wanted to or not.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I decided to bring the Butcher of Torfan into this chapter as a way to introduce the character I've mentioned numerous times in the first few chapters. If you've recognized who this new face is based off of by now, I applaud your observatory skills. Also, congradulations to Bud89, who recognized the reference I made with The Hero of Elysium. Maine is a reference to The Meta, the villian of the popular web series Red vs Blue seasons 6-8. I felt using a villian as a reference to a hero was a good approach, and while the character was short-lived, his part of this story is not complete. As for Stark, I felt a hero reference for a villian was a good step as well, although I did borrow his knife concept a bit from Zalgroth, who had Shepard use his knife against batarians on Torfan as well, along with many other enemies to come. Stark will have a much bigger role than his war hero opposite, and he will sometimes have a chapter almost to himself; no transfers to Zach Shepard whatsoever.

As for what happened between those two, I'm saving that explaination for a chapter that will be titled "The First Kill", but you'll have to wait a good while before that chapter is up.

So review, follow, enjoy, and try to act like I beat you up or something...

Kidding. :-)


	6. Chapter 5: Why Zach Hates Politicians

Chapter 5: Why Zach Hates Politicians

Inside Ambassador's Udina's office, Zach waited patiently alongside Kaidan, Ashley, and Captain Anderson, while Udina argued with the Citadel Council. Zach never met the ambassador, but this one meeting confirmed Zach's first impression of the man: he was an asshole. He spoke as if he had authority, yet the council's own comments pushed his so-called 'authority' back in his face. It was funny in a way; watching the politicians argue over who had the biggest stick. Unfortunately, it didn't sound like the council was going to be on Zach's side, either; a result he had been expecting all along.

After their heated debate was over, the stubborn politician turned to face them. "Capain Anderson. I see you've brought half your crew with you."

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime, in case you had any questions."

"I have the mission reports. I assume they're accurate?

"They are. Sounds like you convinced the council to grant us an audience."

"They were not happy about it. Saren's their top agent. They don't like hearing we've accused him of treason."

Zach decided it was the perfect time to enter the conversation. "Saren's a threat to every human resource in this galaxy. If they don't do something about this, I will."

"Settle down, Commander. You've already done more than enough to jeapordize your canidacy for the spectres. The mission on Eden Prime was to prove you can get the job done. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed."

"That's Saren's fault, not his!" Anderson interjected.

"The we'd better hope the C-Sec investigator finds evidence to prove our accusations. Otherwise they might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the spectres." And that both offended and relieved Zach. During their walk to the presidium, he had read articles on the spectres off of his omni-tool. He believed the unlimited power and freedom given to the spectres was useful, but with the attack on Eden Prime, it just might prove dangerous to posess. He had never trusted himself with power of any kind, be it biotics, military prowess, or political gain. He still wondered why he even accepted the promotion to commander or the N7 offer in the first place. However, the fact that a politician could stop him from gaining free prestige because of a liar's words was a bad thought that would bug him for a long time.

"Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the meeting. Shepard, you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower, top level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in." After Anderson and Udina left, Zach heard Ashley give him a reason to smile.

"And that's why I hate politicians."

Zach chuckled. "We couldn't agree any more, Chief. Come on, we'll take some time to explore, and then head up to the tower."

Minutes later, atop the Citadel tower, Garrus Vakarian walked towards his boss, Executor Palin, hoping to ask for a little more time to find the quarian he heard talk about Saren. However, he already expected Palin to say no; the direct result of expecting the worst and knowing how Palin follows the rules too well.

"Afternoon, Garrus. Do you have any evidence needed to present to the council?"

"All I got was a lead that I need more time to chase."

"You're time's already up, Garrus."

"Well, I need more time. There's a quarian on the citadel that has exactly what I need. I just need time to find her."

"A quarian? Don't be absurd. They're beggars and thieves. They're also untrustworthy scavengers. There's no way the quarian would be reliable."

"Listen to me, dammit!" Garrus's tone became extremely hostile. "I knkw this quarian has exactly what I need! Saren's hiding something! Give me more time! Stall them!"

"Stall the council? Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus." The executor walked away, leaving Garrus to ball up his two fingers into a fist. He then turned to his right to face Commander Shepard, the human alliance soldier from Eden Prime, along with the two other soldiers from the incident. He turned to face them, collecting himself to be a little more casual.

"Commander Shepard, Garrus Vakarian. I was in charge of the C-Sec investigation on your charges against Saren."

"Who was that you were just talking to?" The man replied.

"That was Executor Palin. Head of Citadel Security; my boss. He'll be presenting my findings to the council."

"Sounds like you really wanna take Saren down."

"I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me off the wrong way. But he's a spectre. Most of his information is classified. I couldn't find solid evidence."

"I think the council's waiting for us." one of his followers, a dark-haired man, stated.

"Good luck, Shepard. Maybe the council will listen to you." And he departed from the group as they headed for the council. Approaching the elevator, the door opened to that of a salarian in gray bisiness attire. Garrus pinned his age at 24, given that the man had no visible wrinkles on his amphibious face so far.

"Garrus Vakarian?" The salarian replied.

"Yes?" Garrus asked, intruiged by the salarian's acknowledgement of him by name.

"Sidoc Vougn. I have information for you regarding your investigation."

Garrus frowned. "A little late for that information. The council meeting's already started."

"It's on the last whereabouts of the quarian you so desperately seek."

That shut Garrus up quickly. "I'm listening."

The salarian waved his hand, and Garrus joined him in the elevator.

As Zach approached Anderson, the old man waved him over. A look of concern came upon his face.

"The hearing's already started. Come on."

As they approached the platform across from the councilors, Zach could see the hologram of Saren Arterius hovering on another platform above the council. The man wore a gray combat suit of some kind, and what he could only describe as a black hat-veil combination. What really caught Zach's eye was the tubes intertwined with the suit, the metal bits holding his gray mandibles together, and his left arm strangely looked geth-like, as if he replaced his left arm for that.

That should've been a dead giveaway to the council... if they weren't blind as bats.

"The geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing that indicates Saren was involved." The asari councilor stated.

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your accusations." The turian councilor then stated. Zach was busy trying to find which of the three had the bigger stick. Hr already had his credits on the turian; Sparatus, if memory served correctly.

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood." Udina interjected, intent on establishing dominance in the world of politics.

"We've read the reports, ambassador." The salarian councilor interacted in an "I am not amused" tone. "The testimony of one traumatized dock worker is hardly compelling evidence."

_"I resent these accusations." _Saren spoke in his hologram form. _"Nihlus was a fellow spectre, and a friend."_

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson snapped.

_"Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me." _This caught Zach's attention for a moment before Saren started speaking to him. _"And this must be your prodige, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."_

"Hard to not let it get destroyed when it's busy knocking me out." Seeing that Anderson and Udina started off with serious or political tones, Zach decided to clear the air with an honest joke. "And on that note, how would you know about the beacon? The mission to Eden Prime was top secret. The only way you could know about it is if you were there."

_"With Nihlus dead, his files passed on to me. I read the reports. I was unimpressed. But what can you expect from a _human._"_

The tone in Saren's voice only made his next joke sweeter. "The last I remember, it wasn't a _turian _that saved Eden Prime from a batallion of geth and a task force of creepy robot zombies."

The anger could be seen in the hologram turian's eyes. _"Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard. You're not ready to join the council. You're not even ready to join the spectres."_

"He has no right to say that!" Udina's voice boomed. "That is not his decision!"

"Shepard's admission into the spectres is not the purpose of this meeting." the asari councilor chimed in, securing the spot of least stuck-up in Zach's mind.

_"This meeting has no purpose. The humans are only wasting your time and mine."_

"Who invited you into this meeting again?" Zach asked the hologram. "Because I was told I had to waste my time coming here to hear you argue when I could be spending my time exploring and such, getting some real evidence on you or something. Because I'm sure we can all agree Udina's plan wasn't completely thought through." And yet again, the sound of Red's laughter filled Zach's head.

_"Do you find this funny, Shepard? Is this some kind of game? Are you even trying to sway the councilors to listen to you?"_

"Why would they listen to me? They're so uptight they could shove up huge lumps of coal into their asses and be able to mine out diamonds to pay for the galactic projects in need of money."

"Commander Shepard, unless you want to be thrown out of the council chambers, I suggest you take this a little more seriously." the turian councilor threatened.

"Trust me. I've got serious covered. But when things get too serious, someone needs to clear the air." Zach quickly cleared his throat. "Anything to add, guys?"

"There is still one more piece of evidence: Commander Shepard's vision." Anderson stated. "It might have been triggered by the beacon."

_"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now? How can I defend myself against this sort of testimony?" _If Zach were to guess, Saren was being sarcastic about that.

"I agree." The turian councilor said. "Our evidence needs to be based on facts. Not wild speculations and hallucinations."

"Do you have anything more to add, Commander?" The asari councilor asked.

"I believe I've already stated I'm done? You've made your decision. I won't waste my breath." _And enter headshake in 3... 2..._

The asari and salarian councilor stared at Sparatus, who shook his head.

_Fatalistic view: 1. System's Alliance: 0._

"The council cannot find any evidence stating whether or not Saren was involved in the attack on Eden Prime. I'm sorry, ambasador. Your petition to remove Saren from the spectres has been denied." The asari councilor stated, leaving Udina to drop his head in defeat.

_"I'm glad to see justice was served." _The spectre said as his hologram disappeared forever.

"This meeting is adjourned." Zach and the gang walked away with Anderson, leaving Udina alone to recover from his defeat.

While the meeting took place, Garrus had a chat with Sidoc as the elevator descended.

"As you are aware, the quarian you seek had run from the embassies after the clerk refused to help. I followed her discreetly and saw her head to Dr. Michel's office. She had been shot before reaching the council embassies, and the one who shot her had been disposed of by the Butcher of Torfan."

"The Butcher of Torfan? Isn't that an Alliance soldier who massacred a bunch of batarians during the retaliation of Elysium?"

"Yes. The quarian had the fortunate luck to run into him. Despite his scary reputation, he holds a soft spot in his heart for innocent women who are victimized. Once she reached Dr. Michel, she was in good hands. However, she is still in danger."

"What do you mean?"

"Michel put her in contact with Fist, an agent for the Shadow Broker. However, Fist now works for Saren, and no matter which side obtains her, Broker or Saren, she's as good as dead."

"Wait a minute. Don't you work for the Broker? You seem to know an awful lot of information."

"No. I work for an interested party which owns multiple businesses across the galaxy for both civilian and military needs. We also hold a personal army of soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries. Our fees are good and the money we pay to others in return is generous. We also fulfill favors for individuals such as yourself for doing things for us."

"So what are you offering?"

"Fist is sending his men after Dr. Michel to ensure she doesn't talk to you specifically. Go in and rescue her. If my employer is correct, Harkin will be keeping tabs on you and will tell Commander Shepard of your whereabouts. Get the quarian to Shepard, and Saren will lose his spectre status." The salarian pulled out a card. "In the future, my employer will fulfill a favor for you, although he suggests holding onto it for the time being. He suspects one day you'll need help locating someone."

"Well, whoever your employer is, I'll be sure to contact him when I need him." Garrus smiled.

"One last thing. The Shadow Broker has hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take Fist out. He isn't under orders to harm the quarian so if you want even more backup against his thugs, find Wrex." Sidoc extended his hand out to Garrus, who then shook it. "And now I must take my leave of you, Garrus Vakarian. I have more pressing matters to attend to. Good day." Sidoc exited the elevator, which had reached the ground floor as they had finished. Garrus took a look at the card in his hand, finding a number on one side and a symbol on the other. The symbol appeared to be in the shape of a human letter with a circle around it. Sliding it into his pocket, he headed to the C-Sec Acadamy to grab his sniper rifle and assault rifle before launching his rescue mission at Dr. Michel's office.

Back at the Citadel Tower, Zach waited for Udina to come complain about his performance. Instead, he was surprised when Udina stared at Anderson.

"It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You have too much history with Saren. It made the council question our motives."

"I know Saren." Anderson interjected. "He's working with the geth for one reason: to destroy all mankind. Every human being is at risk! Every world we control is in danger! Even Earth isn't safe!"

"What's this past you have with Saren?" Zach asked the question towards Andeson.

"I worked with him on a mission about twenty years ago. However, it ended up getting bloody. And his report covered it all up. We shouldn't talk about it now. We have to find evidence on his crimes."

"Well the council's obviously a dead end. We'll have to figure this out on our own."

"As a spectre, he's virtually untouchable." Udina stated. "We need to find some way to expose him."

"What about Garrus, that C-Sec agent we met?" Kaidan asked. "He said he was investigating a lead on Saren."

"That's right!" Ashley chimed in. "He was asking for more time to find someone who had what he was looking for. He might be able to help us."

"I agree." Zach said. "Any idea where we could find him?"

"I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us find Garrus." Udina brought up. "His name is Harkin."

But Anderson shook his head. "Forget it. Harkin was suspended last month; drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with that loser."

"You won't have to. I don't want your past history with Saren getting in the way as an excuse to ignore any evidence we find. Shepard can handle this."

"You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of the loop." Zach protested, but Anderson waved a hand at his comment.

"The ambassador's right. I need to step aside."

"I have a few things I need to take care of. Anderson can answer any questions you might have." And so the politician took his leave, clearing the atmosphere around Zach to a more peaceful feeling.

"Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den. It's a dingy little club at the end of the wards."

"I thought you said he's a drunken idiot."

"Couldn't hurt to talk to him. Just don't consider him reliable."

"Noted. We should head out, then."

"Good luck, Commander. We're counting on you."

And so the three soldiers departed to elevator. When they were descending the tower, however, Ashley spoke up.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"What the hell were you doing during the council meeting? Were you trying to get them to side with Saren or were you just trying to piss them off?!"

"I was testing their sticks."

"What?"

"The sticks up their asses. I was trying to figure out who had the biggest stick. The turian councilor was the victor."

The three of them took the time to laugh as they waited for the elevator to reach the bottom floor.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know sooner or later someone will ask why I augmented the scene with the council meeting so I will explain. First, I always felt the meeting was too bland and boring, and I always thought "Where's Gabriel Iglesias when you need him?" So I thought having Shepard act like Allistair from Dragon Age: Origins would be funny. Second, with election day coming up on November 6th, the same day Halo 4 comes out (my other favorite space game series), I thought it'd be appropriate for me to bring up how I hate the games politicians play. With all those campaign ads on saying "This person did this!" or "Vote for this guy because bla bla bla!", it really gets annoying; especially when I turned 18 the same day the Leviathan dlc was released (you already knew that, ProjektNemesis7). If Ron Paul hadn't disappeared from the campaign, he would've had my vote immediately. At least he had some sort of plan. Romney and Obama don't seem to be the best candidates for election this year. Of course, I'm just rambling my views on politics, so I'll stop now.

If you're also wondering what human letter was mentioned as part of that symbol on the card Garrus got, it was a T; mainly a style that has some kind of line hanging off the sides on the top and a bottom line like an I has but shorter. Go ahead and try to draw the symbol yourself if you feel like it.

So next chapter will be Shepard getting Wrex and Garrus to work with him. Then for those who adore her, we'll finally have Shepard and Tali meet in the chapter after that.


	7. Chapter 6: Allies To The Cause

Chapter 6: Allies To The Cause

Garrus quickly checked over his assault rifle, admiring the feel of it in his hands as he clipped it to the magnetic clamp on his back. He then checked over his sniper rifle; his pride and joy on the missions that required precision and careful timing. Any target under Garrus's sights always ended up dead, either from the headshots or the trauma from when he aimed for a different part of his enemy's body. He wished he could've used it more, but working at C-Sec has limited him to pistols and assault rifles at times. If he were still in the turian military, he'd have plenty of opportunities. But this mission, rules or no rules, would require his favorite weapon when the time is right.

Clipping his sniper rifle to his back as he did his assault rifle, he walked out of the locker room with his head up high. As he walked by, Detective Chellick spotted him.

"Garrus? What's up with the heavy firepower?"

"I'm launching a rescue mission. A quarian's life is at stake."

"Garrus, you do realize you sound a bit crazy right now, right?"

"Maybe, but this is something I have to do. I don't expect you to agree with me, but I don't care at this present moment."

"Then I won't stop you from your crazy endeavors. Just _please _don't cause trouble for the executor. He's already tired of your other stunts you've tried pulling during your career."

"I'll try not to piss in his mug." Garrus joked. "If anyone asks where I am, tell them I went to visit Dr. Michel down in the wards."

"Whatever you say, Garrus. Be careful. I don't want to find out one of our best agents got blown up in some crazy scene."

"Like that's ever going to happen to me." The turian smiled and walked towards the elevator that led to the wards.

Zach walked through the elevator that had taken them from the presidium to the wards, Kaidan and Ashley behind him. Walking down a corridor to a door at the end, he entered his first sight of the wards. The place was full of people commercing in a central area that stretched to doors and stairwells to other locations on the level. The view that caught his eye was that in front of him of the entire Citadel. He walked forward and rested his hands on the ledge at the end, taking in the view of the enormous space station. Kaidan and Ashley joined him to his left as he stood up a bit more.

"Big place." was all Kaidan could say. There was a moment of silence.

"That your _professional _opinion, sir." Ashley stated blandly.

But Zach actually had to agree. "This isn't just a station. It's a city."

"There must be _millions _living here, working together to support the galactic community." Kaidan continued.

"This makes Jump Zero look like a porta-john," Ashley commented. "and that's the biggest deep space station we have."

"Jump Zero is big, but this is a whole 'nother scale. Look at the ward arms! How do they keep them from falling apart?"

"The council must represent more races than I thought." Zach chimed back in, "No wonder they're careful with newcomers."

"They're probably trying to keep every race working together. It would be hard to represent all the different cultures that live here."

"Or maybe they just don't like humans." Ashley commented rather snidely. After hearing that, Zach decided to figure out later if she had problems with aliens.

"Why not? We've got oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love. According to the old vids we have everything they want."

What Ashley said next made Zach laugh a little inside.

"If you expect to get me into a tinfoil mini-skirt and thigh-high boots, I want dinner first," which she ended with an embarrassing "Sir."

"That will be all, Chief." Kaidan commented.

And Zach agreed with him, despite the fact it was funny hearing her say that. "That would be violating the laws of fraternization, Chief. I think we'd all like to keep our jobs, right?"

"Of course' sir." Ash said, humiliated for even commenting.

"Ready to move out, sir." Kaidan stated.

Walking away from the ledge, they walked for only a short distance before he heard his name be called by some woman waving them down. Deciding to find out what was going on, he walked towards her.

"You called my name, miss?"

"I'm Emily Wong. I'm an investigative reporter working for the Citadel News Network. I'm investigating crime down here on the wards, and I thought you could help me get some information while you continue your own investigation."

"How do you even know I'm investigating at all?"

"I'm a very good investigative reporter. I know how you're still trying to take down Saren. You might run into information that could help my own investigation that I can't obtain because of how well-guarded its contents are. I'd be willing to pay you for whatever you can get me."

Zach shrugged. "Sounds like a good cause. If I find anything that could help you, I'll bring it to you as soon as I have time."

"Thank you, Commander. You won't forget it." And Emily left as soon as she was finished speaking.

"Do you really think we'll find anything that can help her?" Ashley asked annoyingly.

"It couldn't hurt to see if we can find stuff for her while we search for evidence against Saren." Besides, that would mean more action for the two of them. He was sure they'd enjoy it.

Walking through the door they were facing, they looked around to see a marketplace. At one vendor, a human was arguing with a turian dealer; stating he purchased something from the store the turian was denying he ever sold. In another corner, two volus were conversing about items to purchase to for some trip to their cousin's expedition to the planet his 'vision' stated he must go to so he could 'find the beings of light.' In a corner, another keeper could be seen typing on a keyboard. Zach had seen a few of them on the presidium, and Ashley got yelled at by the Virtual Intelligence for almost touching one out of curiosity. It was kind of funny to see her drop her 'tough girl' facade for one that doesn't like to be snuck up on.

Zach lifted his omni-tool. "Okay. The entrance to Chora's Den is just down those stairs through a door next to Morlan's Famous Shop. We go in, find Harkin, make the meeting short, and find Garrus. If he's reached his source for evidence, we take it to Ambassador Udina so he at least looks like an asshole with actual evidence."

"What is it about Udina that makes you hate him so much, sir?" Kaidan asked.

"He's a stuck-up, cocky politician. What more do you need from me?" Zach stated. "Let's go." However, they were interrupted by yet another person acknowledging his existence.

"Wow. You're Commander Shepard! The _Hero of Eden Prime. _I am so honored to meet you." Zach had actually listened to the man being amazed by his presence seconds before, but now he actually faced this man. He had incredibly light hair with a small beard to match, and the look in his eyes was that of excitement. Deciding to entertain him, he shook the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you. And you are?"

"My name is Conrad. Conrad Verner. I am so glad I'm able to meet you. They say you killed over a hundred geth on Eden Prime!"

_Well, actually, it was only seventy-four geth. The rest were mutant robot zombies we now call husks. _"We were too busy killing them to keep count." Zach decided to say.

"Hey, do you mind signing an autograph for me?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed the man's pad and quckly made an autograph. "Anything for a fan. Here."

"Thank you, Commander. You have no idea how happy I am. My wife is going to be impressed. Next time you're on Earth, I'll buy you a drink. Thanks again." And Conrad walked away from them, leaving Zach to turn around to face a grinning Ashley.

"What?"

"Looks like you have a fan."

"And?"

"Did you see how childish that guy was? I swear, it must've been his best day ever."

"Riggggggghhhhhhtttttt. Let's just go." Without any more distractions, they finally made it to the entrance to Chora's Den. Two turians were exiting the bar, carrying menacing looks on their faces. They stared in their direction, and their eyes flared their hatred toward them.

"That's them." Suddenly, their hands had shotguns in them. Zach pulled the Striker off of his belt, and fired two shots at the one closest to him. The shields only flickered, but did not die. Ducking behind cover alongside his companions, he figured out a plan to take out the enemies as quickly as possible.

"I'm getting sick and tired of people with strong shields."

"Maybe if you replaced your special ammunition from cryo to sledgehammer rounds." Kaidan joked. "That'll do some damage."

"Only on my shotgun, Kaidan. That thing fires too slow when I need it to save my life. Take out their shields so Ashley and I can finish them off fast."

"Whatever you say, Commander." Kaidan raised himself up and launched his overload program at the two turians as they lost their shields in a crackle of electricity. Ashley took up a position to shoot the head of one turian, but the other's shotgun knocked her back.

"Damn it! Shields down! Their shotguns are dangerously modded. I'd say sledgehammer rounds."

"See?" Kaidan continued joking. "Totally effective against shields."

"The day I give up cryo ammunition is when I can program the guns with any ammunition type I wish. And even then, I'd still use it. Sabotage their weapons, Lieutenant. I don't want to get my head shot off."

Kaidan lit up his omni-tool again and overheated the turians' weapons. Before they could reach for their pistols, however, they were finished off by two shots to the head; one body exploding into broken ice chunks. Running to examine the bodies, Kaidan came to the realization of why they were attacked. "Those were Saren's men."

"You know, he's a bit of a coward if he isn't coming to face me himself." Zach joked. "Anybody think I can best him in single combat?"

"He's a spectre, Shepard. They're the best the galaxy has to offer."

"I'm an N7 operative. Other than Maine and Stark, I'm the best humanity has to offer. And I've actually bested them in combat before. They were the toughest fights of my life, but I beat them. I doubt Saren would be any different."

Kaidan laughed. "I can't help but admire your confidence, sir." And so the trio walked into the bar to find Harkin. Walking around the bartender's circular booth and those watching the asari dancers, they saw Harkin. However, a red krogan was busy talking to another krogan in front of him. And judging from the shotgun on the back of his magnetic belt, it could only mean trouble if they got involved.

"Back off, Wrex." The bouncer said. "Fist told us to take you down if you showed up."

"What are you waiting for? I'm standing right here." From what Zach saw, Wrex held as much confidence (if not more) as Zach that they would win the battles they were waging. "This is Fist's only chance. I suggest he take it."

"He's not coming out, Wrex. End of story!"

Wrex brought his reptilian head closer to the other krogan with a menacing grin. "This story is just beginning." Turning around to walk away, he saw the three of them. "Out of my way, humans. I have no quarrel with you." And the krogan walked away from them.

"What was that all about?" Kaidan asked.

"Who knows." Ashley answered. "Let's just try not to be caught in the middle."

"There's Harkin." Zach pointed at the drunken, middle-aged man sitting conviently next to where Wrex was standing. He was already drinking another glass of alcohol that Zach couldn't put his finger on. Then again, he never really drank any real alcohol unless the occasion was appropriate. Usually he drank a glass of Voltage, a kind of synthetic alcohol that was to simulate the effects of alcohol such as dizzyness and a hangover without the negative side effects to his liver and brain. He forgot the name of the company that created it, but he did know they perfected a dextro-based formula to help suffering turian alcoholics in Citadel space. Also, he couldn't help but feel the drink had a strange 'bubbly' feeling to it.

"Alliance." the drunk man in front of them said. "I could've been in the Alliance. Instead I had to join the goddamn Citadel Security. Now I'm on leave with no pay because I wanted to enjoy a drink or two on duty."

"Harkin, right?" Zach's voice was stern. "I heard you can help me find someone. I'm looking for a C-Sec officer; a turian named Garrus."

"Garrus?! You must be Anderson's men. Still trying to take down Saren, I see. Sure, I know where Garrus is, but you gotta tell me something: did the captain let you in on his _big _secret?"

Zach became confused for a second. "Do you know something about the captain?"

"The captain used to be a spectre. Betcha he never told you that. But he messed it up. Screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. Of course, he blames _Saren._"

_Is he telling the truth? _Zach thought to himself. _Anderson never mentioned it to me. Although, Harkin _is _drunk. He probably doesn't know what he's talking about. _Deciding to set the matter aside, he continued what he was here for. "Just tell me where Garrus is."

"Garrus was seen snooping outside Dr. Michel's office. You'll probably catch him there."

_Good. Now I'll take my leave of you, you drunk bastard. _"I'm out of here."

"Good. Go. Let me drink in peace." the drunkard said as he hiccuped and gulped another glass down. Walking out, Zach's companions did just what he expected.

"Why didn't the captain tell us he used to be a spectre?" Ash said accusingly.

"Maybe it's not true." Kaidan suspected. "Harkin's an ass. I bet he's just messing with our heads."

"Maybe. I'd like to hear what the captain has to say about it, though."

"One problem at a time, Williams." Zach interrupted. "Let's go see a doctor."

Garrus watched from his vantage point as he saw five heavily armed men enter Dr. Michel's office. Thankfully, they had not spotted him as they entered. Following silent behind them, he kept his body as low to the ground as his knees would let him. Already he could see the men surrounding the doctor, and he heard her scream in shock at the realization of the thugs surrounding her.

"Let's make this easy, doctor." A voice Garrus could only pin down as the leader spoke.

"Who are you?!" Garrus heard the doctor say; a touch of fear in her voice.

"You haven't told anyone about your little guest you sent our way, did you?" He spoke again. Garrus could see from his vantage point that her eyes filled with the realization that these were Fist's men. Garrus quietly unclipped his pistol off his belt, waiting for a chance to stand up and place a bullet in each of their heads.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" The woman's screams hid the sound of a door opening behind Garrus. And since whoever was behind him hadn't attacked him yet, he could only guess it was Shepard. Hugging himself closer to the wall, he waited seconds more for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"That was smart, doc. Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll-" The man stopped talking as he saw the man in white armor. He grabbed the doctor and used her as a shield. "Who are you!"

"Let her go!" The commanding voice of Shepard could be heard behind Garrus trying to contain the situation. As the two men pointed their pistols out at each other, Garrus swirved out of his hiding spot, aimed his pistol at the leader's head, and pulled the trigger.

The human crumpled to the floor, dead as the bullet had impacted his head.

With the other four surprised and confused, it gave Shepard and his team the perfect opportunity to finish them off. They took aim at a small tank right behind them, shooting shots off of their guns to cause the tank to rupture and explode. It tore through the thugs' shields, leaving them vulnerable to weapons' fire. Every single one fell. Garrus felt accomplished over his victory.

Zach saw the move the turian pulled to be a bit reckless.

"Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard." Garrus spoke to him.

"What were you thinking?" Zach scolded. "You could've hit the hostage!"

"There wasn't time to think! I just reacted! I didn't mean to-" Garrus faced the doctor. "Dr. Michel, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm all right." She spoke, her voice a little calmer than it was before. "Thanks to you. All of you."

"Why were those men threatening you? Who do they work for?" Zach asked.

"They worked for Fist. They wanted to shut me up; keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian."

_Quarian. Which race were they again? _Zach was having trouble remembering which species the quarians were (likely the result of never meeting one before) so he continued asking questions. "What quarian?"

Dr. Michel started fumbling with her hands. "About an hour ago, a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot by an assassin who was murdered by the Butcher of Torfan."

"Stark? What's he gotten himself into now?" Zach let slip past his tongue.

"Friend of yours?" Garrus asked.

"We trained together years ago. I was there on Torfan when he let vengeance control him to slaughter hundreds of batarians. The Alliance only state it as one hundred casualties, but I saw how he murdered over three hundred batarians in a matter of minutes. And it's all thanks to that knife of his, forged by the batarians themselves; his trophy for what happened on Mindoir. His parents and sister were murdered, and he and his twin brother, Robert, joined the Alliance. Stark is the worst kind of tragedy that could exist." _But my tragedy could come close second._ Zach kept back.

"Well, she told me Stark saved her life and left the body to rot in some sort of alleyway." Dr. Michel continued. "Whatever the assassin was hunting her down for she wouldn't say. I could tell she was scared; probably on the run. She did, however, state she had a secret she needed to get rid of, and that she also needed to get some intel to the Alliance."

"What intel?"

"An encrypted OSD entrusted to her by who she believed was the Hero of Elysium. Maybe if you find her, you could take it off of her hands as well."

"Where is she now?"

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"Not anymore." Garrus interrupted. "Now he works for Saren. And the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him! Saren must've made him quite the offer."

"That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get."

_It has to be the evidence we need. We have to find her._"She must something that proves he's a traitor." Zach stated. "Did the quarian say anything about Saren or the geth?"

"She did. She told me she got her secret from a geth unit she disabled in the Armstrong Cluster." Dr. Michel finished.

"That quarian must be able to prove Saren's a traitor." Garrus stated. "There's no way the council can ignore this!"

"Time we payed Fist a visit."

"This is your show, Shepard, but I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you!"

"You're a turian. Why do you want to bring him down?"

"I couldn't find the proof in my investigation, but I really knew what was going on! Saren is a traitor to the council, and a _disgrace _to my people!"

Garrus's confidence both pleased and worried Shepard. On one hand, Garrus seemed to be the 'at-any-costs' kind of guy, which was something Zach never wanted to be. On the other hand, Zach is willing to bring in allies to the cause, and Garrus had skills. "Welcome aboard, Garrus." he agreed, deciding to see if he could show Garrus his way of fighting a battle and drill it in his head.

"You know we aren't the only ones going after Fist. The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."

"Yeah. We saw him at the bar." Ashley chimed in.

"A krogan could come in handy." Zach decided, knowing from what he heard about krogan that they were good fighters."

"We can find Wrex at the C-Sec Acadamy." Garrus continued.

"What's he doing there?" Kaidan asked.

"He was accused of making threats in Fist's bar. We brought Wrex in for a _little talk. _If you hurry, we can catch him there."

"Then let's move out." And the four of them left the clinic for the stairwell to the elevator that led to the C-Sec acadamy.

Wrex stood in front of a human C-Sec officer with a stern look on his face. The krogan found it funny how the small man thought he had all of the power over him. Surrounding him were three other officers with rifles. Wrex could see one guard's fear through his red eyes, and he found it entertaining.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar." The human in front of him spoke. "Stay away from him."

"I don't take orders from you." Wrex barked.

"Do you want me to arrest you?"

"I want you to try." He looked over the officer's shoulder to see a human in heavy white combat armor smirking at your conversation. He then realized it was the human he passed by in the bar. Behind him stood the other two humans who traveled with him, and a turian C-Sec agent with a visor over his left eye. Deciding he was done with C-Sec pestering him, he walked away; the officers deciding to tell him to leave anyway. When he reached the human, he stared with observing eyes. "Do I know you?"

"My name's Shepard." The human spoke to Wrex with the voice of a leader. "I'm going after Fist, and I heard you were doing the same. Thought'd you'd want to tag along."

"Shepard. Commander Shepard. I've heard a lot about you." He brought his face close to Shepard's face. "We're both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect I'll give you a fair warning: _I'm _going to _kill _Fist."

"Fist knows you're coming." The turian spoke to him. "You'll have a better chance if we all worked together." And strangely, Wrex found that turian's comment was a good idea.

"My people have a saying: seek the enemy of my enemy, and you'll find a friend." Shepard extended his hand out to Wrex, and he shook it respectfully.

"Good to have you on the team, Wrex."

"Let's go. I' hate to keep Fist waiting."

Shepard turned to his human companions. "Williams, Alenko, head back to the ship. This mission will just be Wrex, Garrus, and I."

"Aye, aye, sir." One companion, a dark-haired male obeyed. He headed towards the elevator, but the other human, a female by the looks of it, opened her mouth.

"With all due respect, sir, I don't think you be bringing aliens into our investigation at all."

"It's not your call to make, Williams." Shepard spoke to the human woman. "I've seen you and Kaidan in action. I'd like to see what Wrex and Garrus can really do. Besides, a team of three is as much as I take with me out on a mission. Go back to the ship and wait for us to return. That's an order."

The woman begrudgingly brought her hand up to her head in the form of a salute. "Yes, sir." Joining the other human in the elevator, they left as it took them up to the docking bay.

"That woman's got quite a mouth." Wrex joked.

"Maybe, but she follows my command, so if I tell her to go, she goes. So what can the two of you do?"

"I'm a biotic and a krogan." Wrex bluntly stated. "I think that explains itself."

"Another biotic. Well, I guess we could always use a spare." Shepard joked himself.

"I'm the best sniper on the Citadel, and I have some experience in the field of decryption and electronics." The turian spoke.

"You don't want to be in your enemy's face shooting him at short range with a shotgun?" Wrex asked.

"Why would I when I could get crushed to death by the krogan's skull I'm trying to shoot up close." The turian joked.

"Ha. You've got a quad, turian, even if your fighting methods are more suited for a pyjak." Wrex laughed his low laugh. "What about yourself, Shepard? What can you do?"

"I can handle almost every weapon in the galaxy. Add to that, some computer skills, and I can hack open any door or terminal. They're useful skills I got on Earth when I was growing up."

"Well, we'll see who wins." Wrex stated.

"Win what?"

"Who's the better killer." He laughed.

"Get ready to crown me king, then." the turian yelled, laughing as he walked back to the C-Sec elevator that led back down to the wards. Wrex stared at Shepard; a grin forming on his face.

"Twenty credits goes to the winner?"

"You're on!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, that's the end of this chapter. Next time, I'll cover Fist's death, Tali's rescue, the walk to the human embassy, and the evidence revealed.

Also, if you have any guesses on what "Voltage" is based off of, go ahead and PM me or mention it in a review. I'm sure any gamer should get the reference if they ever get thirsty while playing games such as Mass Effect.


	8. Chapter 7: Fate Conspired

Chapter 7: Fate Conspired

Fist looked upon his terminal as the camera in the elevator leaving C-Sec Acadamy up to the wards showed a human, a turian, and the krogan Wrex armed to the teeth. Wrex was trouble enough, but with the help of a C-Sec officer and an Alliance soldier, Fist would be in deep shit. And he knew everything about them: Wrex was the Shadow Broker's retirement present to him, Garrus Vakarian was a meddlesome thorn in his side, and Commander Shepard had fought off the geth on Eden Prime _and _survived the horrors of Akuze alone. There was no way anyone in the bar would make it out alive.

"Orders, sir?" Primus, his turian agent asked.

"Close the bar down and get our men in defensive positions. I want you to take a small team to dispose of the quarian in the back alley."

"It will be a pleasure, sir." The cold smile from the turian gave Fist no comfort that Saren would be pleased or that Fist would survive at all to give him the news. He waved his hand to three masked salarians that followed him out of Fist's office. When the door closed, Fist put his head in his hands, exhaled, and spoke two words he knew were true.

"We're fucked."

Approaching the club quietly, the three men pulled out their large weapons off of their backs; Zach his Banshee VIII, Garrus his sniper rifle, and Wrex a krogan shotgun. The first thing they noticed was the quiet.

"The place looks locked down." Garrus observed.

"Fist knows we're coming." Wrex stated.

"He's probably fortified the bar, but there won't be civilians. So you're free to shoot on sight. We get Fist, have him tell us where the quarian is, and we go rescue her. I'm also going to see if there's something I could give to Emily Wong the reporter while I'm at it. Ready, you two?"

"Ready." The krogan and turian said in harmony.

"Good. Lock and load." Zach ran forward and opened the door, immediately pulling the trigger on the bartender pointing the gun at him. The few bullets he fired penetrated the man's weak shields and burst through his chest, freezing his body in a matter of seconds. He then took cover to give Wrex some room to stomp in and throw three guards to his right. Garrus rolled in and fired one bullet through the skull of a thug on the ceiling. Zach focused on the other bartender hiding behind a stood-up table and took aim at his head. The krogan bouncer from earlier charged at Wrex, who headbutted him back in notice, Garrus shot at the other krogan's leg, making him fall down low enough to swallow the barrel of Wrex's shotgun. As Wrex fired, the head plate of his enemy shattered into pieces that flew all over the ground. With nothing but two guards at the door, Zach shot at the fuel tanks behind them, knocking them forward for the three of them to finish their unshielded lives off.

"How many kills is that?" Garrus asked, unaware of the one thug standing back up behind him. He jumped at the sound of a shotgun.

"Now I have _four _kills. How many do you have?" Wrex laughed.

"Technically, that krogan went down on his knees because of me, so you owe me half of that kill."

"That wasn't part of the rules."

"Wasn't it?"

"Hey," Zach said, clipping his rifle on his back. "we still have a mission to complete. We'll focus on who killed who later." He walked toward the door and turned around. "Oh, and I got _seven _kills." He smiled at his new comrades' expressions. Pressing the button to open the door as his friends folded their weapons up, he turned to face two men.

"Stop right there! Don't come any closer!" one shouted as they pulled out their weapons on the three of them.

"Warehouse workers." Garrus noticed. "All the real guards must be dead."

"Stay back or we'll shoot." the other worker said, his confidence draining at the sight of the large krogan in front of him.

"This would be a good time to look for new jobs." Zach joked, not interested in killing people that weren't a direct threat to him.

"Yeah," The first guard said, dropping his weapon down and wiping his forehead. "that's a good idea."

"I never liked Fist anyway." his friend agreed. They walked around the three of them and left without another word.

"It would've been easier to just kill them." Wrex mumbled.

"Shooting people isn't always the answer." Garrus stated. Walking over to the next door, he looked at the lock. "You know, for an agent of the Shadow Broker, he has sloppy security measures."

"Agreed. It's been far too easy getting in." Zach brought up. "I expect he may have some kind of automated defense inside his office, however. Be ready to use your omni-tool, Garrus."

"How can you be sure?"

"I just have a feeling." He pulled his gun off of his back again. When the door opened, he hopped in first.

"Why do I have to do everything myself?" he heard Fist say. "Time to die, little soldiers!" All of a sudden, two auto-sentries popped up upon either side of Fist, letting loose a spray of bullets at Zach. Ducking behind cover, Zach signaled Garrus to launch the overload program, and the shields on the sentries flickered and died. Wrex threw a sentry into a stasis form while Zach and Garrus used their rifles in the exposed other.

"How unfortunate," Garrus shook his head as the other sentry exploded from the warp Wrex threw at it. "I was hoping for more of a challenge." He then saw Fist fall to the floor, scared at the three armed men in front of him. "Anybody wanna bet he wet himself?"

Fist saw as the human swiped his pistol off of his belt. The look in his eyes terrified him, as if he was ready to just shoot him. "Wait!" he pleaded." Don't kill me! I surrender!"

Zach raised his gun to the man's head as he flinched. "Where's the quarian?"

"She's not here. I don't know where she is! That's the truth!"

"He's no use to you now." Wrex stated, his tone one of dull amusement. "Let me kill him."

"Wait!" Fist pleaded again. "I can tell you where she'll be soon! She's not here now, but she wants to meet the Shadow Broker himself!"

"Face to face?" Wrex spoke. "Impossible. Even I was hired through an agent."

"Well she doesn't know that!" Fist stated as he stood up. "My men are waiting at the meeting place to remove her from the equation."

Zach grabbed ahold of the other man's collar. "Give me the location." His voice was colder than he intended, but he wasn't going to let an innocent be killed by a snake like Fist. "_Now._"

"The back alley by the wards. She'll be there any minute. You can make it if you hurry." Zach threw the man into the wall, finished with his business.

Wrex then shot the man with his shotgun.

"What are you doing?!" Garrus yelled.

"The Shadow Broker hired me to kill him. I don't leave jobs half-finished."

"There's nothing we can do now, and the guy did cause all of this." Zach then saw a terminal knocked on the floor. He bent down to pick it up.

"That quarian's dead if we don't go now!" Garrus stated, heading out the door with his rifle in his hands. Wrex followed soon after, and Zach walked out as he placed a few OSDs into a small pocket, pulling his rifle off with efficiency.

Tali waited impatiently for any sign of the Shadow Broker. He should've been here with Fist three minutes ago. Were they running late? Could this be a trap? Tali didn't have time to figure it out as she saw a turian walking out of the shadows. At first she was going to speak to him, asking him why he was late. But his facial tatooes held her tongue.

They were the same as the assassin that chased her to the Butcher of Torfan.

"Did you bring it?" the turian asked, his voice menacing and cold.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?"

"They'll be here." He started sliding his hand down Tali's arm. "Where's the evidence?"

Tali smacked his hand off of her, the tone in her voice serious as she spoke. "No way. The deal's off." She started to back away as she saw the salarians behind her. But this time, she had been prepared. Throwing one of her only other two proximity mines at the salarians, they fell backwards as the mine blew up in their faces. However, their armor had protected them from causing any real damage.

"Get up, you pathetic tadpoles! Kill the quarian bitch!" The turian pulled off his rifle from his back, but stopped moving as one of the salarians screamed as the bullet from a sniper rifle punctured his skull.

"Light'em up! Get them away from the quarian! We need to rescue her!" Tali suspected the one who said that was human from the sounds of it.

"On it!" A turian yelled as a krogan charged at the other turian; the one who tried to kill her. However, he was faster, and dodged the krogan as he instead collided with the other two salarians behind her. Then the turians fought each other with tech attacks, trying their hardest to overload or sabotage their opponent's weapons.

"Wrex!" The human yelled to the krogan. "Do you need help?"

"Are you kidding?!" The krogan known as Wrex yelled back. "I can handle these damn pyjaks! Help Vakarian! That long rifle isn't going to be useful up close." He then picked up a salarian, throwing him into his brethren.

Tali then saw the human come into view.

From her viewpoint behind a crate, she could see his features: He had golden hair, a strong chin, some stubble on his face. What she noticed the most was his blue eyes. They were like the boy's eyes on Illium. They were calculating but soft, as if he was a peacemaker who used anger to make peace.

But his eyes also looked sad.

He ran at the turian carrying the assault rifle, firing off a few rounds into his shields. But all the shields did was flicker.

"Cryo rounds?" The evil turian laughed. "Is that the best you can do?"

Tali quickly jumped up, taking out his shields with a tap on her omni-tool. The turian instantly became confused at the action, turning to face the quarian before the human punched him in the face. As the turian fell, the human slung his rifle back on his back, grabbing his pistol instead. He pointed it at his paralyzed enemy, holding it over his head for added effect. Tali brought her eyes up from the man's gun to his eyes. She remembered the look of the Butcher of Torfan's eyes as he stated he'd remove the other assassin from her trail, and then the look of the boy's eyes as he killed the five thugs on Illium. In their eyes, she had seen killers in humans.

But there was only sadness in the man's eyes as he pulled the trigger.

As the turian's body exploded into ice chunks that melted on the floor, he placed his gun back and turned to face her. And she knew she found a good example of humanity. She felt that he had no intention at all to harm her, so she walked out from her hiding spot to how her face (or her mask) to him.

"Are you okay?" He asked with such kindness towards her.

At first, Tali was speechless at the sound of such a calm voice. But then the realization of Fist's betrayal came crashing into her. "Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!"

"Were you hurt in the fight?" He asked.

"I'm more than capable of looking out for myself. Not that I don't appreciate the help. Who are you?"

"My name's Shepard. I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren's a traitor."

"Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe."

"We could take her to the human embassy." The turian said. "Your ambassador will want to see this."

Shepard waved his hand for them to move out through the door behind Tali. The krogan started walking past her; an assumable nice grin on his face, followed by the turian. Shepard walked towards her, a look of wonder on his face. Tali felt it intriguing; he was staring right at her, studying her with unthreatening eyes. Then he acted as if he realized something.

"What?"

"I was trying to remember what your kind were before I found you. It only just hit me."

"Really? You've never met another quarian before?"

Shepard shook his head. "You're the first I met. What's your name?"

"My name's Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"Tali. What a beautiful name."

Tali blushed under the helmet at his comment. "Thanks." She started rubbing her right arm, remembering how it had been shot.

"Is that the arm you had Dr. Michel patch up?"

"Uh, yes. It's just starting to ache a bit." She stopped rubbing it, and he walked towards her.

"May I?" He pointed at her arm where she was rubbing it, and slowly brought her arm up, activating a program on his omni-tool as he let his left hand hover over her healed wound. Slowly moving his hand back and forth, the ache in her arm slowly numbed to a point in which it was nonexistant. Tali gasped at how it no longer bugged her, and he deactivated his omni-tool, a smile on his face. "Better?"

"How- how'd you do that?" She spoke with shock in her voice.

"It's a special program that helps relieve tension in things like pulled muscles, aches, and pain from gunshot wounds or broken bones. I got it at discount price from a friend on Earth. It came from some multi-business organization called Calypso, I think. They actually developed something else called Voltage, a synthetic alcohol I like drinking."

"You drink synthetic alcohol?" Tali asked, a look of confusion hidden behind her mask.

"If you saw me drink real alcohol, you'd know why I drink Voltage. I can handle either, but if I get drunk on real alcohol, something bad will happen. Voltage just gives me dizzyness if I drink one too many glasses."

Tali laughed. "Well, thanks. I was afraid my arm was going to bug me for ages."

Shepard smirked. "Your welcome." Then he held out his hand. "Want to hold my hand?"

That caught Tali by surprise. No one on the flotilla had ever asked to hold her hand; likely because they were worried her father would do something horrible to them if they layed a hand on her, but this human she's only known for about two minutes was offering her this act of affection. "Uh, are you sure?"

He nodded his head. "I think it'd be a good thing: if there are any more assassins, I can throw myself in the way of their weapons if they get past Wrex and Garrus, and it'll give some of the stuck up politicians a thing to laugh at as they see a soldier armed to the teeth holding hands with a young woman they don't think belongs in their precious world. The latter would lead to Wrex stealing the spotlight as he smacks them in the back of the head." But his eyes dropped when she didn't answer after a few seconds. "If you don't want to-"

"Yes." Tali then blurted out, unsure of why she decided to hold his hand. She brought her hand into his, and her two fingers found a spot between his four. It felt different from what she was used to, but it was a good different, as if it felt right to hold onto it. They walked side by side through the door and turned left towards the elevator.

Zach hadn't held a girl's hand in years, but the feel of Tali's hand in his was a warm welcome, despite the fact they were wearing suits to cover their skin. As they headed towards the elevator, he could see Garrus smirking and Wrex chuckling at the sight of the two holding hands.

"And that's what I want to accomplish when we reach the presidium: a bunch of grinning idiots."

Garrus threw his hands up in the air laughing. "It'll be a sight to see, all right. They'll be complaining I was supposed to throw her off of the station for being in their presence, and I'll say 'I'm not breaking up that cross-species liaison. Shepard would kill me!'"

"Garrus." The sound of Zach's voice was that of annoyance and seriousness entwined into a perfect package.

"You're right. They'd rather be hitting on me than staring at the two of you."

"You mean hitting on me?" Wrex said with a smile on his face. "I'm the one with smoldering good looks."

"We can have a beauty pageant later, guys." Zach joked. "Let's just get up there and deal with the ambassador as quickly as possible before I hyperventilate at the presence of too many politicians."

He and Tali entered the elevator in front of the other two, and Garrus pressed the button for the elevator to ascend up to the presidium. While they waited, Zach decided to observe Tali a little more. He didn't completely understand the point of the suit quarians wore yet, but he knew he could probably ask her later. However, he did find the design on the purple veil she wore was amazing. Looking as unobsessively as possible at her body, he found that her slender form was breathtaking as well; he found her attractive in a way that seemed impossible for him to describe. Deciding to look back up, he tried staring through the purple mask she wore. He could make out two silver orbs for eyes with faint white circles marking the start of her irises and tiny white dots for pupils, a nose, and what he thought could possibly be freckles formed near an invisible mouth. Other than that, her face was a mystery.

"Shepard?" He snapped back into reality as Garrus spoke. "We need to get to the other elevator. Can we hurry things along, or are you going to keep staring at your new girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend, Red."

"Red?" Garrus formed a look of confusion on his expressionless face.

"Sorry. I was thinking of an old friend." He then heard in the back of his mind the laugh of his old friend again. _Thanks a lot, you crazy coot. You've embarrassed me in front of my new friends. _They walked out of the elevator and down the hallway to the other elevator. He and Tali entered the elevator first this time, and the other two were in front of them. The elevator continued their ascension to the presidium, and Zach now felt Tali's eyes scanning him. He didn't give out any reaction; he decided to let her after his time staring at her.

When they reached the presidium, the politicians started staring at the odd group of people walking towards the embassies. Zach could feel their eyes scanning the two of them, and a few gave them menacing looks, to which he returned to them. They stopped looking after that. Wrex stopped when he noticed a volus staring at him. Zach saw them stare at each other for several seconds; the volus expressionless behind his own suit while Wrex threw up his menacing grin.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer."

The volus quickly tapped his omni-tool, and a quick flash came out of it as he took a picture of the menacing brute. He then walked away.

"You see, Garrus." Wrex turned towards Garrus. "Smoldering good looks." He then laughed.

"I bet you don't have an asari looking at you right now." Garrus pointed at the asari at the reception desk, blinking her eyes at the C-Sec officer in front of her. Garrus winked, and she sighed.

"Uh, you've got people staring at you. I am holding onto a girl's hand. I think I know who wins this one." He then continued to walk towards the human embassies with Tali next to him, and soon Garrus and Wrex caught up. When they reached the door, he slowly released his hold of Tali's hand, allowing her to slide her hand out of his grasp. He opened the door, walked in, and prepared for Udina's complaining.

"You're not making my life easy, Shepard." Udina started as he turned. "Firefights in the wards, an all-out assault on Chora's Den. Do you know how many-" He stopped talking as soon as he caught sight of Tali. "Who's this? A quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?"

"This quarian can help us take down Saren. I would've told you that if you hadn't jumped down my throat."

"I apologize, Commander. This whole business with Saren has me a bit on edge. Maybe we should start at the beginning, Miss-" Zach found Udina's newfound "manners" to be out of practice and insulting.

"My name is Tali." He saw her introduce herself. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"We don't see many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?"

"I was on my pilgrimage; my right of passage into adulthood."

Zach had not found much information on the quarians when he studied the alien races over the years, so he didn't know about their customs. "I've never heard of this before."

"It is a tradition among my people. When we come of age, we are sent on a pilgrimage to find something of value that could strengthen the flotilla as a whole. In this way, it proves we are worthy of adulthood."

"What kinds of things do you look for?"

"It could be things like food or resources to maintain our populations and ships, or ships themselves, or even knowledge that could better the lives of the quarians as a whole. When we have found a useful pilgrimage gift, we present it to the captain of the respective ship we wish to join. There is a celebration when the pilgrim returns and is accepted into a new crew as a full adult."

"That sounds interesting, but let's get to what you found real quick."

"During my travels, I began hearing reports of geth. Since the geth drove my people into exile, they haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world, I waited for one to become seperated from its unit, then I disabled it and removed its memory core."

"I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died; some kind of defense mechanism." Anderson chimed in, having been quiet for this entire time.

"How did you preserve the memory core?" Zach asked Tali.

"My people created the geth. If you're quick, careful, and lucky small amounts of data can be saved. Most of the core was corrupted, but I salvaged something from its audio banks." She tapped on her omni-tool, and an audio recording played with Saren's menacing voice.

_"Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit."_

"That's Saren's voice!" Anderson stated. "This proves he was involved in the attack!"

"He said the beacon had led him one step closer to 'finding the conduit.' Any idea what that means?"

"Maybe the conduit's some kind of ancient prothean device. Like a weapon."

"Wait." Tali interrupted. "There's more. Saren wasn't working alone." Tapping onto her omni-tool again, she replayed the recording in its entirety.

_"Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit."_

_"And one step closer to the return of the reapers."_ The last word the female voice stated sent a chill down Zach's spine.

"I don't recognize that other voice; the one talking about reapers." Udina spoke.

"I feel like I heard that name before..." Zach turned to face Tali, who then continued speaking.

"Acording to the memory core, the reapers were a hyper-advanced synthetic race fifty-thousand years ago. The reapers wiped the protheans to total extinction and then they vanished... at least, that's what the geth believe."

"Sounds a little far-fetched." Udina said, his tone full of disbelief.

"The vision on Eden Prime!" Zach finally understood. He rubbed some invisible sweat off of his brow. "I understand it now. I saw the protheans being wiped out by the reapers!"

"The geth revere the reapers as gods," Tali continued. "the pinnicle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring the reapers back."

"The council is going to love this!" Udina said sarcastically.

"Knowing our luck, they'll just ignore everything we say." Zach added in Udina's tone.

"No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files _prove _Saren's a traitor!" Anderson interjected.

"The captain's right." Udina agreed. "We need to report this to the council right away."

'What about her?" Wrex pointed at Tali. "The quarian?"

"My name is Tali!" she snapped at Wrex. Then she faced Zach. "You saw me in the alley, Commander, you know what I can do! Let me come with you!"

"I thought you were on your pilgrimage." Zach stated as nicely as possible.

"The pilgrimage proves we are willing to give ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?! Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy. My pilgrimage can wait."

Zach felt conflicted on this matter. He didn't want to have someone as innocent as Tali throwing herself into the fires of combat when she most likely isn't prepared. However, she was definitely a tech expert after saving his life, and he could always use the help. Plus, there was something about her that intrigued him; a presense he has not found any match to ever since she died. It scared and excited him that he found one so closely familiar to the original feeling.

_You need her,_ a seemingly unfamiliar voice said in his head.

"I'll take all the help I can get." Zach finally decided. Tali walked beside him, a smile most likely formed behind her helmet.

"Thanks. You won't regret this."

_I sure hope I don't, Tali._ Zach thought to himself.

"Anderson and I will get everything set up. Take a few minutes to collect yourself and then meet us at the tower." Udina walked out of the office, but Anderson stayed when Tali grabbed his arm.

"Excuse me," she spoke, "are you a member of Alliance Command?"

"My name's Captain Anderson." he spoke back with his polite, diplomatic voice. "I have connections to Alliance Command, yes."

"I have something that needed to be given to the Alliance."

"What is it?"

"It's an OSD from an Alliance soldier I ran into when I grabbed the geth's memory core. He gave me the disk, and pointed at the Alliance symbol on his armor. He then held off a geth landing party as I ran to my ship."

Anderson ran its contents through his omni-tool. Once he saw the results, his facial expression changed to one of worry. "This is a field report from Commander Maine. He went M.I.A. on a mission in the Armstrong Cluster. Do you know if he's alive?"

"Unfortunately, I don't. His attitude towards me suggested he thought he wasn't going to make it. I gave him my last two prototype arc grenades and he charged the squads. I was already leaving the atmosphere of Casbin by the time the geth most likely overwhelmed him."

"Hmmm." The captain shook his head. "You did the right thing handing us this data. I'll make sure Alliance Command gets ahold of this information. You've done us a service, Miss Zorah. I'll see if the Alliance will reward you for your actions. Shepard will be notified if any reward will be given."

"Yes, sir." He saluted the Captain and got one back in return. When the captain departed, Zach turned to face Wrex. "So, is this the end of the road, Wrex, or are you planning on sticking around for a while?"

"I'm thinking I'll stick with you for a while. Fighting a bunch of geth sounds like a good way to pass the time." He laughed.

"Then grab whatever you need and head to docking bay 422. Tell Navigator Pressley that I gave you permission to let you onboard. I'll notify Kaidan just to be safe."

"Whatever you say, Shepard." And then he left, leaving Zach alone with Garrus and Tali.

"Come on, guys. This is our victory, so we're going to see the results." And Zach knew whatever happened, the results would be sweet.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So I don't know if the next chapter will be released within a few days, but the latest you'll see the next chapter will be next Thursday. I'm going to be working five days in a row (two days overtime) so I'm going to be needing a lot of sleep working overnight at the gas station (my first job is working for my mom at the gas station she manages so don't laugh). If I can get the next chapter out before then, I will, but I might be busy playing ME3 as Zach for the seventh time in a row. The next chapter will be finishing up the Citadel while talking to Samesh Batia and Admiral Kahouku (warn me if I spelled their names wrong), along with talking to Emily Wong and Dr. Michel. So review this chapter for now, and pm me with any questions.

Also, anyone play as a volus on the ME3 multiplayer yet? I was like WTF when I found out about them.


	9. Chapter 8: The First Human Spectre

Chapter 8: The First Human Spectre

Waking up from his hangover, Stark lifted his head up slowly from his pillow. Already his head was pounding from having too much '47 Thessia Red, but he never really cared about anything anymore. The galaxy had been cruel to him too many times. First his parents were brutally murdered in front of him; his sister had been lost in the chaos but no one officially knew if she was dead or captured. Then his twin brother, Robert, had been killed by Shepard during training. Worse, the Alliance had covered it up, saying Robert had dosed up on red sand and that Shepard was a hero that day. Finally, he made a bad call on Torfan, where the batarians ambushed his unit and decimated them.

And the knife killed all of the batarians.

It was a gift and a curse wrapped together in a deadly package, bringing death upon those who challenged him. It was a gift because he always succeeded in gaining vengeance upon those who hurt him; with the exception of Shepard, which was the curse of that damned knife. Getting up slowly, he grabbed ahold of his blade, carefully sliding it out of its sheath. Its shining metal was finely crafted, and Stark knew the only good thing he could say about the batarians was that they could craft deadly combat knives.

He didn't understand why the blade had been resistant towards his need for Shepard's death, or why its lust for blood had been so satisfied last night when he saved that quarian from the pathetic excuse for an assassin. Right now, he only had formed a theory during his drunken dissolution last night, and it only applied to the assassin. Because he tried killing the batarians on both Mindoir and Torfan out of vengeance, the blade took a longer time to be satisfied, reveling in continuous bloodshed. But since he killed the assassin to protect the quarian, which Stark could tell was not guilty of any crime, the blade satisfied itself in the case that an innocent was protected and that justice was served.

So why didn't it want to kill Shepard?

The fact that justice was not placed upon Shepard for the death of his brother created a pit of hatred towards the man they both called friend. Ever since they had been sent to training at age eighteen, Shepard had slowly became friends with the two of them, who had become inseparable since the massacre. Then he killed his brother, and the Alliance promoted him for it, saying he had saved the life of an officer who had been captured by Robert at gunpoint. After that, Stark had no one else to love, and he blamed Shepard for it.

He had no one but the knife.

Sliding it back in its sheath, he headed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower and wake himself up from his delusions.

As Zach walked out of the ambassador's office, Garrus placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to face his new crew member, who was looking upon him with curious eyes.

"Shepard, I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Why did you call me Red on the elevator up here?"

"Red was an old friend of mine, as I said. He was kind of like you, actually. He was a sniper, could handle any technological problem we ran into during our departure to Akuze. I only knew him for a few days, but he became a friend in that period of time. His only problem was he was an idiot."

"He was a tech genius but an idiot?"

"It wasn't his fault, really. He said he sustained brain damage one time when his mother crashed their transport into Scotland Yard, a famous location on Earth. When I asked him what his skills were, he mistakened urbanomics for electronics. He also had an attitude that suggested he was either happy or crazy."

"Well, you knew him. Which was he?"

"I think he was a little bit of both." The three of them chuckled.

"You make odd friends, Shepard." Tali spoke.

"Well, I make friends with those that don't belong. Red didn't seem to fit with the rest of my small unit, and you guys don't seem to fit into society, either. Garrus is a gun-ho C-Sec agent, and Tali is considered an outcast just because of what happened to her people nearly three centuries ago."

"So you're saying we're your new friends? Just like that?"

"Well, we may have to start chatting more and fight together, but I think the three of us would make good best friends over time." And out of the corner of his eye, Zach thought he saw Tali smile behind that strange mask. "Right now, let's consider ourselves crew mates. And once we take Saren down, we'll all celebrate as best friends."

"Agreed." Garrus said, smiling the only way a turian could.

"Right." Tali agreed.

"So let's go see our first victory as crew mates." And the three of them walked down the stairs together only to stop as a man with dark skin and gray hair called them over.

"Excuse me, Commander Shepard? Could you spare a moment of your time?" The man's rich Indian voice caught Zach's attention, and he turned to see him. "My name is Samesh Batia. Forgive my intrusion, but I have no one else to turn to."

"It's no trouble. What can I do to help?"

"My wife, Nirahli, was recently killed in action. She was with the 212th on Eden Prime. I've requested that my wife's body be transferred back to Earth so we can give her a funeral, but the military has denied my request!"

"That doesn't seem right. Have they given you any reason they have denied your request?"

"None. All I know is that they have made it impossible for my wife's body to be returned!" And those words make Zach feel the need to help this man. In some way, he knew what he was going through before.

The difference is the woman he loved didn't die in his arms.

Tali noticed the commander's strange look in his eyes again; the one full of sadness. That made her wonder just how different from the other humans she had met he was. He had killed the other turian assassin to save her, but he didn't do it out of bloodlust like the Butcher of Torfan or out of protection like the boy on Illium. It was as if he did it because he had to; as if it was his job, but not one he easily enjoyed.

"There's no reason for your wife's body to be held like this. Let me see what I can do." Zach finally spoke.

"The man in charge of my case is Mr. Bosker. The last place I saw him, he was in that expensive bar over there." Samesh pointed his finger over at the stairwell opposite to the one they came from. "Thank you, Commander. I just want to give my wife a proper funeral, and the respect she deserves."

Back at docking bay 422, Wrex waited as the decontamination cycle ran through the airlock of the Alliance ship he was boarding. He had seen the ship from the outside, and he had to say he was impressed. Now that Commander Shepard had given him a chance for a good fight, he was glad they'd be getting to the battlefields in style. Once the doors finally opened to the interior of the ship, he walked inside, only to run into the one and only Navigator Pressley Shepard had warned about.

"What the- how the hell did you get onboard, krogan?!" Wrex saw the balding human in a full alliance uniform holding onto a datapad as he looked up and saw him; a look of shock on his face.

Wrex smiled. "Name's Wrex. Commander Shepard gave me permission to come aboard. Said he could use my help whenever you start hunting down Saren."

"What about Captain Anderson? He's in command of the Normandy. Did _he _give you permission to join?"

"He didn't seem to mind.

"Pressley!" The dark-haired human that had been with Shepard when Wrex joined up walked from behind the other man. "I got confirmation from Shepard that Wrex has been given permission to join the crew. I am to take him down to the Cargo Bay where we have space available for him to stay." He then offered his hand to Wrex, who shook it in gratitude. "Glad to have you onboard, Wrex. I believe introductions are in order. My name's Kaidan Alenko, and I'm second to Shepard out in the field. We're lucky to have someone with your record onboard, Wrex."

"Thank you, Kaidan. When do we head out to save the galaxy?"

"Whenever Shepard and Anderson return with orders from the council. Since you helped Shepard rescue the quarian, we're offering you a place inside the cargo bay where you can relax while we head off to new destinations."

"Yeah, Shepard already gave me that whole briefing." He lifted his omni-tool up to show the quick message Shepard had sent. "Just show me where to settle in and I'll make myself as comfortable as I can."

"Of course. I'll show you the way to the cargo hold. Make yourself at home. We'll likely be heading out in an hour." Wrex was then led to an elevator that traveled down to a large cargo bay. Behind the elevator was two walkways to the drive core, and he could see a large ground vehicle to his right. He saw the female soldier on the far left working on some weapons at the armory, ignoring the large krogan walking to a spot close by. Removing his shotgun off of his belt, he chose one of the four empty lockers and placed it in. He then set up a code lock for when he would need it again: 9-7-3-9. Smiling, the krogan sat back against the wall, glad he actually was going to go into a real fight where he can fight for something more.

In the presidium lounge, Zach had looked around for Mr. Bosker, spotting a group of Alliance privates talking about someone known as 'The Consort'. An asari was tapping on a terminal in front of her, and some random human diplomat sat behind him and his friends. He finally spotted the man leaning against a wall, wearing a dark business suit.

"That's him." He pointed a finger at the man so Tali and Garrus can see who he was. He walked over to the man, carrying a look of sincerity towards Samesh and his request.

"Commander Shepard. It's an honor to meet you. Is there something I can do for you?"

"I hope so. A man named Samesh Batia has asked that his wife's body be transferred back to Earth so she can have a funeral, but your people have said against it."

"Ah, Samesh Batia. A man in an understandably difficult position. Serviceman Batia died on Eden Prime, as Mr. Batia no doubt told you. But her body has been exposed to weapon damage we have never seen before. That's why her body is being held for examination."

Zach knew what that meant. While his education on Earth had been limited, he knew more than enough to figure out they were keeping the bodies for science. "You're holding the body to run experiments on her."

"Respectfully, Serviceman Batia may save more lives in death than in life. The tests we are running will lead to better defenses against the geth."

_Holding the body is wrong, though, no matter how beneficial the results would be if they kept it. _"I understand what you're trying to do here, but holding the body is wrong."

"Commander, you of all people know how far we must go to protect humanity!" Bosker protested.

"Not if we lose our humanity in the process!" Zach shouted back. "I'm out there fighting to stop crap like this!"

"All right, Commander." Bosker said, defeated. "You win. It was hard enough refusing Mr. Batia. I'm not going to risk an incident by refusing you. Tell Samesh the body is being shipped to Earth. I'll go to prepare the arrangements myself." And the man walked away with his head down.

"Are you sure that was the best option, Commander?" Garrus asked. "What they could've learned might help protect people later."

"Maybe, but they likely have other bodies they can use. I'm not going to leave a grieving man having to wait to say goodbye from his wife. Come on." And the three of them walked back to Samesh with good news.

"Have you spoken to Mr. Bosker about my wife?"

"I reminded Mr. Bosker what we're fighting for. Your wife is coming home."

"Thank you. I will return to Earth and begin preparations. It does not bring me happiness, but it may bring me peace. Goodbye, Commander." And the man walked away from them, grieving for his dead wife. Again, the old man reminded him of himself, and that moment six years ago that had haunted his dreams for a while now. He lowered his head in thought for a moment before he felt a two-fingered hand on his shoulder.

"You did a good thing, Shepard." The voice of Tali brought peace to Zach's thoughts for a while. And he took comfort in the fact he did another good thing. Even better, that Tali was saying it to him. What he didn't know was that Tali had noticed his past creeping up on him and tried to distract him from it. And she knew it worked when he smiled.

"Thanks, Tali." Holding his head up high, he turned to face his new crew mates. "Let's get moving."

On the other side of the presidium, Sidoc saw that Garrus had been united with Shepard and the quarian; just as The Stranger had said. They were heading up towards the Citadel Tower. He tapped his omni-tool and brought up a projection. The man on the screen was hidden behind the darkness of the room, but there was enough light to spot the silhouette of him. Sidoc was told The Stranger, as he wished to be called, was the Overseer of every part of Calypso, and he placed up Presidents to watch over the different branches. He was also told when he called you for a special assignment, there was a large bonus in their next paycheck.

_"Yes?"_

"This is Sidoc. I have confirmation that Garrus Vakarian has the quarian and has joined Commander Shepard to pass out the evidence against Saren to the council."

_"Excellent news. Good work, Sidoc. I'll have a special bonus added to your paycheck next week."_

"Thank you, sir. But do you mind if I ask a personal question?"

_"Speak freely, Sidoc."_

"Why did we have to help them? Wasn't there a chance they could figure it out on their own?"

_"Perhaps. But you know Calypso's long-time goal is the preservation of the galaxy. That is why we watch for things that could upset the goal. That is why your branch exists."_

"Yes, I know. The branch to observe and pass secrets to those that deserve them."

_"And possibly my favorite. Your branch follows my famous line real well."_

"'I don't lie. I just don't tell the truth.'"

_"Exactly."_

"So what aren't you telling me about my mission?"

_"That we are following a force you could only imagine. Unfortunately, I cannot explain it to you, as it is not something I am supposed to do. Return to our headquarters on Sur'Kesh. You will be briefed on your next assignment. Stranger out."_ And just like that, the link was cut.

"Yes, sir." Sidoc left the spot he was standing at and walked to buy a ticket to Sur'Kesh, knowing that no matter how hard he pushed his leader, his greatest secret would never be revealed to him.

The elevator ride up to the council chamber was quiet for a bit. Zach spent his time observing Tali a bit longer, wondering just what it was about her that made him feel a familiar presence that had left him six years ago. She was definitely young, definitely smart, and definitely vulnerable in some way. And Zach kind of understood why. Her species had been kicked off of their own planet by the geth, but whatever records they had on the war stated that the quarians attacked first. Even if that was true, the council had not tried giving the quarians any kind of aid or even a new home. They were forced to scavenge the galaxy to survive, and it reminded him of his time on Earth, forced to follow the Tenth Street Reds in order to survive. He never liked the gang, and after the events of April 7th of 2171, he had every reason to leave that xenophobic group behind.

Tali made Zach want to find the quarians a home.

"There's no way the council can ignore the evidence against Saren. That turian is going down now." Garrus finally spoke with satisfaction.

"If the information was worth trying to kill me for, I hope so." Tali said glumly. The fact that Saren's assassins had almost killed her twice (and the irony that Stark and himself had rescued her from both of them) made Zach feel sorry for her even more, which was strangely new to him. He had never felt sorry for anyone he knew before; in fact, people were sorry for him for both his childhood on Earth and his experience on Akuze.

"We'll make Saren pay for what he's done. I promise you." Zach was mainly speaking towards Tali, but Garrus nodded in agreement.

When the elevator opened, the three started walking towards the platform; for Zach, it was the second time in a row in the past few hours. This time, a few of the politicians were staring rather oddly at the three of them. So Zach returned the favor, giving them the same exact stare. Once they turned away, he grinned. Again, Anderson awaited at the start of the small stairwells up to the platform.

"Come on," he spoke. "Udina's presenting the quarian's evidence to the council."

"She has a name, Anderson."

"I know, but we have to make this brief." As they walked to the human Ambassador, the recording that Tali had recovered was playing again. From his vantage point, Zach could see the shocked expressions (or lack of) on the councilors' faces.

"You wanted proof, there it is." Udina said proudly.

"This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador." the turian councilor spoke. "Saren will be removed of his spectre status, and all efforts will be made to bring him in for his crimes."

"I recognize the other voice in the recording." The asari councilor stated. "Matriarch Benezia."

"Who's she?" Zach asked.

"Matriarchs are powerful asari that have reached the final stages of their lives. Revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentors to my people. Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren."

"I'm more interested in the Reapers." The salarian councilor spoke. "What do you know about them?"

"Only what was extracted from the geth's memory core." Anderson interjected. "The Reapers were an ancient machine race that wiped out the protheans, then they vanished."

"The geth believe the Reapers are gods," Zach added. "And Saren is the prophet for their return."

"We think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back. Saren's searching for it. That's why he attacked Eden Prime."

"Do we even know what this Conduit is?" The salarian councilor asked.

"Saren thinks it could bring back the Reapers." Zach answered. "That's bad enough."

But the turian councilor was not convinced. "Listen to what you're saying. Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out the protheans? Impossible. It has to be! Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no trace of their existence? If they were real we'd have found something."

"I tried warning you about Saren an you refused to face the truth." Zach pointed out. "Don't make the same mistake again."

"This is different." The asari councilor spoke. "You proved Saren betrayed the council. We all agree he's using the geth to search for the conduit, but we don't really know why."

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander." The salarian councilor blandly stated. "A convinient lie to cover his true plans. A legend he is using to sway the geth to work for him."

_It's not a legend when a damn prothean device burns a vision into my brain! _"Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers destroyed every galactic being in the galaxy! If Saren finds the Conduit, it _will _happen again!"

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life." The turian councilor stated. "He no longer has the rights and resources of a spectre. The council has stripped him of his position."

"That is not good enough!" Udina interrupted. "You know he's hiding somewhere in the traverse! Send your fleet in!"

The salarian councilor shook his head. "A fleet cannot track down one man."

"A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region; keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies!"

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus systems!" The turian councilor stated coldly. "We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few human colonies."

_Same old story. _But before Zach could complain to the council, an epiphany hit him: he was meant to hunt Saren down. It all really made sense; he exposed him because he attacked a human colony, and humanity needed a real chance to leave their mark on the galaxy. This was something he could accomplish. "I can take Saren down."

"The commander's right." The asari councilor agreed. "There is a way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies."

The tuian councilor's face lit up with shock. "No! It's too soon! Humanity is not yet ready for the responsibilities of a spectre!"

"You don't have to send a fleet in to the traverse, and the ambassador gets his human spectre. Everyone's happy." Zach's logical viewpoint made the councilors all agree upon allowing him access. The three of them tapped buttons on the control panels in front of them.

"Commander Shepard," The asari councilor spoke. "Step forward" Zach quickly looked at Anderson, who nodded to him in response. Following the captain's nod, Zach stepped forward. Already people from many places; ambassadors of all species, were looking at this historic moment. The asari councilor continued. "It is the decision of the council that you be granted the powers and privelages of the Special Tactics and Reconisance branch of the Citadel."

The salarian councilor said the first part of the oath. "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals formed from the fires of service; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

The asari councilor spoke the second part. "Spectres are an ideal; a symbol. The embodiement of courage and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the council, instruments of our will."

The turian councilor finished the oath. "Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace. Both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first human spectre, Commander." The asari councilor continued. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

Zach bowed his head, continuously showing how nice he could actually be to diplomats. "I'm honored, councilors."

The salarian councilor gave Zach the quick mission update. "We're sending you into the traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive on the run from justice so you are given any means to apprehend or eliminate him."

"I'll find him." Zach promised.

"This meeting is adjourned." Zach bowed his head again towards the councilors, and turned to face Anderson and Udina. Anderson shook his hand, while Udina still had a stick up his ass.

"Congratulations, Commander." Anderson smiled.

"We've got a lot of work to do, Shepard. You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies."

"You'll get access to special equipment and training now. You should go down to the C-Sec Acadamy, and speak to the requisitions officer."

"I should also go down to the markets and get some dextro rations for Garrus and Tali, mostly sterilized. I would like all of my crew mates to be at their best." Zach's new crew mates nodded at this comment.

"Anderson, come with me! I'll need your help to set all of this up." And just like that, Udina left without saying goodbye, dragging Anderson along for whatever political purposes were needed from them. Zach walked up to his new crew, and Tali finally spoke again.

"I thought the ambassador would be a little more grateful. He didn't even thank you."

"What do you expect from a politician?" Zach stated, returning to his old, politician-mocking self. "Come on."

"Right behind you, Shepard."

Stark's morning had been ruined.

He had woken up, got over his hangover with a quick shower, made himself a good sausage omelet, and turned on the news to see that his rival, Commander Zach Shepard, has been named the first human _spectre_. Worse, the quarian _Stark _had rescued was with him, standing behind him with a turian C-Sec agent he didn't know. In anger, he threw his plate at the wall, scattering the shards and what little of his omelet remained on the floor.

_Why the fuck is it always him with the good luck?!_

Breathing in hard to try and collect himself, Stark walked over, grabbed a broom, swept up his mess, and then slipped on his favorite vest. He needed some kind of mission to distract himself from this new announcement before he ended up killing someone he didn't want to.

Someone like the quarian he should never have saved.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I promised I'd throw in Kahouku, Wong, and Michel last time, but after typing up a close 4,600 words over the period of my time out yesterday, along with the time this morning, I'd just like to get this chapter out before I take a five-day break to get my non-stop work schedule out of the way. You can still review and PM, and I will try to answer as soon as I can, but you won't see another chapter until late next week. Also, big shoutout again to ProjektNemesis7, whose really been following me since the beginning. He's basically the reason right now I try to update as frequently as possible, and he doesn't hesitate to pm me with questions and lingering thoughts. You're awesome, man!

Also, for anyone else following the story, I came up with the idea of a quick seven-chapter short story explaining a week's vacation Zach is given to resupply and take a break from saving the galaxy. I already have the fourth chapter marked down as Garrus and Shepard have drinks at Flux, and Nemesis entertained me with the idea of Wrex and Zach doing some kind of hunting trip-like thing, but I'd like imput from anyone else who thinks they have a good idea for what could happen if Zach Shepard took one of his remaining five squadmates each day of the week to do something fun. Any help would be appreciated, and those with ideas would be credited at the end of each chapter.

Until next week, followers.


	10. Chapter 9: Preparing For The Journey

Chapter 9: Preparing For The Journey

Zach descended from the balcony stairwell with Garrus and Tali right behind him. Already his thoughts were racing on what he just did. On one hand, he just threw himself into the one situation he never wanted to be in: serving a bunch of beaurocratic assholes. On the other hand, this gave him a slight advantage against Saren, and his acceptance will help humanity's reputation. But he had to work for beaurocratic assholes...

"No. I'm waiting to speak to one of the councilor's assistants." Zach heard a human speak to his right. He initially had him pinned down as an admiral once he saw him due to his uniform and the way the man carried himself. The graying hair on his chin pegged his age around the early fifties. In front of him was a terminal he was speaking through to someone Zach wasn't initially sure of. "No. I just want to ask a couple of questions."

Shrugging his shoulders, Zach walked towards the man, who turned around after whoever he was speaking to hung up on him for no apparent reason. When the man realized he was coming, he turned to face him.

"Congratulations on becoming the first human spectre, Commander Shepard. I'm certain you'll be up to the challenge." The man's sudden greeting made Zach extend his hand in thanks, shaking firmly the hand of the admiral in front of him.

"I appreciate that."

"My name is Admiral Kahouku. It's about time we got one of our own into their ranks. We need someone to deal with our _problems_."

"Do you have a problem, Admiral?"

"I'm being stone-walled by beaurocratic assholes. Nothing new."

"I hear you. The only problem I'm having currently with my new job is the fact I have to work for those beaurocratic assholes."

"Maybe you can help me, Shepard. One of my recon teams was scouting the traverse when I lost contact with them. Now I'm told I don't have clearance to go there. Suddenly it's a restricted area! But that doesn't apply to you. Spectres can go anywhere they want. You can find out why my team dropped out of contact."

"I'll make some time to find your men, Admiral." Zach offered.

"Thank you, Commander. I was running out of options. I'm going to stay here and see what I can find out through official channels. Won't hold my breath, though." The man tapped on his omni-tool. "I'll upload their last coordinates to your ship. I hope you can do something about this." After a quick nod towards each other, Zach departed from the admiral to head back for the wards.

Back at the wards, a man in black was walking towards a certain turian vendor in a back corner of the bottom floor. The turian himself was wearing a casual brown business suit, and he had a small Calypso insignia on his chest, in the area where his heart would be. When he saw the man in black approach, he turned and saluted him.

"Klaus. I didn't expect your new shipment to arrive so soon. Is the boss pushing out sales on military rations?"

"At ease, Nyk. The boss has a certain request for you. In these crates is a shipment of dextro rations; half of it either sterilized or shoved into nutrient tubes. He requests you offer it to Commander Shepard, and say we gladly support the first human spectre in his new mission."

"Whatever you say, Klaus. Have the shipment brought out to the front. Although I have to wonder why the Commander would need dextro rations at all."

"He suspected you'd ask. Not to worry, Nyk. When you see the new additions to his crew, you'll understand." Klaus saluted Nyk as a krogan carried a few crates past him. When the two dropped the pose, he turned around and walked away, disappearing into the shadows as he ascended up the stairs. But before his form reappeared into the light, it changed into yet another form. This time, The Stranger had taken form of a turian with blue tatooes on his face; his clothes and hat matching the color. Walking through the door to the small commence area with a great view, he stared at the towers outside that resembled the buildings of Earth. Of all of the places he had seen in his seemingly brief existance, The Stranger was most pleased by this reality. Especially since he was able to make a difference here as the reclusive owner of the second-largest galactic company of the traverse. He first started on Earth, building slowly from the ground. He branched out to the salarians and turians, going from simple mundane items people could enjoy to military-grade hardware and communications equipment. Eventually, Calypso stretched out to become a multi-race, multi-purpose company with his secret agenda working alongside his normal routines.

It was now as big as his other group in the-

He dropped his thoughts when he sensed Commander Shepard's presense.

Looking around the small area full of chatting pedestrians, Zach spotted Emily Wong in the same place she was at when she called upon him earlier. "There she is. We'll talk to her quickly, check up on Dr. Michel, and then we need to find a vendor who sells dextro rations."

"Should we split up and just take care of all three things at once?" Garrus asked.

"No. Given the reputation Tali's people have on the rest of this bigot-filled galaxy, I don't want her left alone. Think of all the people swarming her with insults."

"Like that clerk who wouldn't let her hand the evidence to the council?"

"How do you know about that?" Tali stared at him with an unseen look of curiosity.

"I was the officer who was being called to arrest you. I was going to bring you to the council so we could add the evidence to the investigation. But you ran before I could explain. So I punched him in the face."

"You punched him in the face?!" Tali's glowing orbs grew larger.

"That's pretty extreme, Garrus." Zach joked.

"Laugh it up, Shepard." Garrus said glumly.

"You know Garrus, I'm kind of jealous. I would've liked to give that clerk a piece of my mind."

"Careful, Shepard. If I was smart, I'd say you had a crush on Tali."Garrus's mandibles twitched happily as he pointed his thumb at Tali, who seemed to become nervous at the acknowledgement as she moved her hands nervously together.

"What?" Zach's eyes grew wide at this statement. "Garrus, we only just met about an hour ago!"

"So what was with the hand-holding all around the presidium?"

"I was trying to be nice. The quarians are always being judged from what happened all those years ago. I wanted to show her the nice side of humanity since she already saw the awful side with Stark."

"Commander?" Zach turned to face Tali. "I have a question about Stark, actually."

"What?"

"When I met him, he spoke about that knife of his as if it was a person. Why does he do that?"

"I don't know, actually." Zach admitted. "If I had to guess, it's probably because he has post-traumatic stress disorder." _And I'm probably responsible for it._ He kept that last thought to himself, feeling he was not ready to say anything about that. "His mind is probably stressed from all of the horrible things of his life. He lost his family, lost his squad; all because of the batarians. He absolutely hates them all. Every batarian he has fought, he has slain with his blade, a batarian-made military talon."

"He actually commented my knife, too." Tali pointed at her blade on her boot. "He said it could match his own in combat."

"You don't mind if I see it real quick, do you?" Zach asked with an open hand. Slowly' Tali pulled it out of the sheath and handed it to the commander. He examined it carefully, admiring the craftsmanship of its quarian design. "He's right. I nearly lost my neck to his blade, and I've examined it carefully before."

"Why did you almost lose your neck to his knife?"

"That's a story for another day." Flipping the blade so he held the blade carefully, he let Tali grasp the handle and cautiously take it back, sliding it back into her sheath. "I think we've wasted enough time. Let's just get back to business."

"All right." The turian smiled. They walked over to Emily Wong, who seemed to be jumping with joy.

"Hey, Commander. Word on the street is you've become the first human spectre, and have been assigned to take down Saren Arterius. Did you happen to find anything I could use for my own investigation by any chance?"

Zach pulled out the OSDs from Fist's office from the small pocket on his armor. "These OSDs from Fist's office might be what you're looking for."

"You've got Fist's files?! This is even bigger than I dreamed! Here, Commander. Five hundred credits for your trouble."

"What would my future cooperation be worth?" Zach asked nicely but with a plan. "Say, an interview when my investigation is over?"

"Exclusive?! You'll talk to me before anyone else?! That would be worth quite a lot! I'd be happy to compensate you further for that." She then handed him seven-hundred fifty credits and walked away.

"And when that interview comes, I'll make sure the whole crew is there to be interviewed as well." Zach said to Garrus and Tali. "I want the galaxy to know it was a group of different species that took down Saren. And if the Alliance has a problem with that, they can all go to hell."

"Do you really mean that, Shepard?" Garrus asked, cocking a scale up.

"Not really. But I won't stand them having a problem with it. Let's go see Dr. Michel real quick." After a quick walk to her office, they walked in to see the doctor was with two gentlemen; one of them was sitting on the operating table as she applied medi-gel to his arm.

"Damn it, Shawn. What did I tell you about the forklift?" The man standing up next to him scolded.

"That it was broken and it was going to be fixed Wednesday." The one named Shawn replied.

"And what's today?"

"Wednesday?"

"No. It's Tuesday! Do you honestly think the thing would be fixed on Tuesday when I said Wednesday?! Now Mom's gonna be pissed because all that merchandise for Mr. Elkoss you dropped on yourself is scattered all across the docks, we've got a medical bill to pay, and to top all that off, I'm missing that date with Rebecca. Do you have any idea how angry that woman can be when I don't give her a heads up on events like this?!"

"Will you just calm down, Ethan?"

"No! I will not calm down! You've goofed up big, little brother!"

"Gentlemen, please." Dr. Michel spoke. "You are distracting me from my work. If you want the bill your mother will most definitely want to pay to be small, you'll want to be silent for thirty more seconds."

The three that walked in shook their heads, laughing and giggling silently in unison. When the two men noticed the group that entered the clinic, they dropped their argument at the sight of the human commander they were facing.

"Hey, that's Commander Shepard! He just became the first human spectre like literally an hour ago!" The one on the table named Shawn stated, pointing the finger of the arm that wasn't being patched up by Dr. Michel at him.

"And you'd know this how?" The one named Ethan asked his brother.

"I saw it on the news."

"While the forklift was raised right above your head?"

"Yeah." Shawn's reply was returned with a smack to the back of the head from Ethan.

"Damn it, Shawn! You can't be watching the news while working at the transport depot."

"Why not?"

"Because then you don't pay attention to your work, and I end up having to clean up one of your messes."

"Geez, you need to change your attitude. You're so uptight."

"I'm uptight?!"

"Boys!" Dr. Michel yelled. "You're both grown-ups. Act like it!" She released her hold on Shawn's arm. "There. The injury has been taken care of. Just don't put too much strain on your arm and you should be good."

"Thanks, doc." Shawn jumped off of the table and walked for the door, facing Zach as he passed by. "Good luck on your new mission, Commander." His brother followed behind, nodding to him as he departed.

"Well, that was unexpected." He finally spoke.

"That's my job, Commander. Expect the unexpected. I always have to take care of Shawn and his injuries every month, it seems." Dr. Michel turned towards Tali. "Tali'Zorah. Good to see you again. I see you found Commander Shepard."

"Actually, I think it's more accurate to say he found and rescued me from Fist's thugs."

"He did the same for me, as did Garrus."

"Just doing my job, ma'am." Garrus winked.

"I never got to properly thank you from saving me from Fist's thugs, Commander."

"It's all right." Zach replied. "I'm just glad we got here in time."

"Me too, Commander."

"I was wondering, Doctor, how did you end up getting this job on the Citadel?"

"My parents had studied the medical profession back on Earth and were field medics in the Alliance. Even though I didn't want to end up working for the Alliance, I still followed the medical field and got a job in the medical field that eventually brought me to this clinic."

"Thanks for your time, Doctor. I'll see you later."

"Likewise. Although, if you don't mind, I'd like to borrow Tali for a few minutes to check to see if the patch to her suit was secure enough, and if her fever has died down."

"Tali, would you be all right if the doctor did a quick check-up while Garrus and I get some dextro rations for the two of you?"

Tali was about to say she was fine, but one look into the doctor's eyes said she didn't really want to check on her. "Uh, sure. I'll be fine. You guys go ahead. I'll be here when you've gotten the order."

"Okay. We'll be back soon, Tali. I promise." When the two men left for the markets, Tali turned to face the doctor.

"You don't really need to check on me, do you?"

"It's better we do just to be safe, but that's not the real reason I wanted you to stay behind for a bit."

"So what is the reason?"

"Remember our little talk on good and bad examples of humanity?"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted you to know you've found a good example of humanity. But I'm afraid you've also found another tragic figure."

"How so?"

"Commander Shepard hasn't exactly had the best life, despite how his career is so far. He grew up on Earth, our home world, in a poor, worn-down city. He had no family, no home; only the support of a known xenophobic priest and an Earth gang that almost killed a turian representative around 2171."

"He's been around xenophobes? But he seemed to be nice to Garrus and I." _Probably a little too nice to me._

"He isn't a xenophobe, but he isn't fond of politicians much. Despite his affiliation with xenophobes, he's shown how humanity can cooperate with the other races many times, which is why his career has been successful so far. However, his greatest tragedy was the loss of his entire unit on Akuze. Fifty soldiers were known to have been slaughtered and eaten by a nest of thresher maws that attacked a small colony being set up on the planet. Only one body was ever found intact."

"Who's body was it?"

"It was a woman named Sergeant Jessica Weaver. I saw the news report on the incident. Shepard had gone to her funeral. The tears he shed on that day were filled with so many different emotions: sadness, regret, most likely anger as well. And only someone who can observe people really well could've probably picked up the one emotion that seems hard to find anymore."

"What?"

"Love." And that last word made Tali think for a second upon their meeting with Samesh Batia. Tali tried to comfort him because she saw how sad he was becoming over the meeting. Could Samesh's grief have reminded him of this Jessica Weaver Dr. Michel had spoken of?

"On our way to the council chamber, Garrus had asked Shepard a question about a name he called him that was not his own. Shepard had accidentally called him Red. Was Red one of the soldiers that died on Akuze?"

"Red was one of Shepard's friends, but his real name was Corporal David Armsby. Other than him and Weaver, Shepard's only other friend that died on Akuze was Corporal Kyle Toombs. They were all part of a small patrol unit as the vids described, and they were the last four survivors before Shepard's friends were picked off one by one."

"Keelah, that's horrible!" Tali exclaimed. "To see all of your friends slaughtered by such beasts!"

"Yes, and something like that would break most beings, but Shepard is still around to live a full life."

"But he's forever changed, isn't he?"

"I'm afraid so." And at that phrase, Tali felt a ping of sadness towards the man that saved her life. How could the commander live such a hard life and still hold some semblence of his spirit? "Now, I think we actually do what I said we'd be doing before they come back, no?"

While Zach and Garrus walked in the markets, they came across the volus merchant they had passed by earlier in order to get to Chora's Den. Deciding to give him a try, the two walked over to his kiosk.

"Hello, Earth-clan. Will you be needing supplies for your trip back to the colonies?" the merchant sniffed.

"Sure. Do you have any dextro rations and sterilized food tubes for sale?"

"Unfortunately, no." he sniffed. "We don't carry that kind of stuff here, unfortunately. However, if you need medi-gel and grenade upgrades, we can provide you with the newest cutting-edge medi-gel delivery system!"

"Maybe when I come back. Thank you, though."

The merchant sniffed again. "No problem, Earth-clan. I hope to see you do business here again soon."

Zach turned around, rolling his eyes. _You'd think finding a vendor that sells actual food would be easy to find in a marketplace as small as this. _As soon as he finished that thought, a turian wearing all blue walked towards them.

"Excuse me. I hear you're looking for some dextro rations and sterilized food tubes for quarians." The turian's voice was casual, but there was a silver tongue hidden behind it.

"Are you spying on us?"

"I have an ear to the ground on things. That means I can tell you that there is a vendor downstairs that got a shipment of what you're looking for. It'd be worth taking a look."

"Well, thanks a lot, Mister..."

"Stalus. Uton Stalus." After bowing his head, Mr. Stalus turned around and walked away. Taking his advice, Zach headed down and found the turian vendor in the back corner of the stairwell on the bottom floor. The turian was wearing a casual brown suit with an insignia he thought he had seen before, only to realize it was the symbol to Calypso, the group responsible for most of galactic trade in the galaxy. Walking towards the vendor, he saw the turian smile.

"Commander Shepard, the first human spectre! It's a good thing you're here! You're looking for a shipment of dextro rations, are you not?"

Zach crossed his arms. "You seem to know a lot about what I need."

"My employers heard of your acceptance into the spectres, and they saw in the news you have a new turian and quarian crew member. They sent a shipment from their private docks they are willing to sell at reduced cost for your mission."

"Really?

"Yes. The CEO's lifetime goal is the preservation of the galaxy. Our entire company works to ensure that goal is fulfilled everyday. Your mission against Saren just might preserve the galaxy, so we are willing to offer any aid we can."

"All right. How much does it cost?"

"Normally, a shipment like this would cost twenty thousand credits. However, since you are now a member of the spectres, you can have a Citadel employee discount, which brings the new total down to fourteen-thousand, seven-hundred and fifty credits."

"You got a deal." Zach then swiped his credit chit through the terminal, succeeding in making the purchase. "Have the shipment brought to the Normandy, docking bay 422."

"We'll see to it, Commander. Thank you for your business."And once the transaction was complete, the two men left the kiosk and headed back to Dr. Michel's office.

As Tali allowed Dr. Michel to quickly run through a quick check-up, she saw the doors open to Commander Shepard and Garrus walking through. Both seemed to have a grin on their face (With Garrus, it's harder to tell what emotion he has) which likely meant their business was successful.

"We're back!" Garrus said cheerfully.

"How's she doing, doctor?" Shepard asked.

"Very good. Her fever is now gone; no likely the result of the special medicine I gave her. I also carefully rechecked her wound. It's been healed, but she'll likely carry the scar on her arm for the rest of her life. I'm amazed you possessed that medical program on your omni-tool, Commander Shepard. Tali's arm is no longer in pain."

"It came pre-installed with my omni-tool. It's helped me in my worst situations when I've gotten pretty banged up." The Commander smiled at Tali. "I'm glad I was able to help you, Tali."

Tali blushed under her helmet. "Uh, thanks, Commander."

"Your welcome. Now, how much did your treatment originally cost?"

"There's no need for that, Commander. I already said she didn't need to pay it." Dr. Michel interjected.

"The medical supplies you used likely costs a lot. I'd like to help you out by paying for her bill."

"Are you sure about that, Shepard?" Tali asked.

"Absolutely. I have plenty of credits in my account. I'll be fine if I spend some here and there for my crew."

"If you want to, Commander." Dr. Michel allowed. "Her treatment, and the medicine she used, costs two-thousand credits all together."

"Here you go." He handed her the money and looked back at Tali. "Ready, Tali?"

"Yes. Let's go." She hopped off the table and faced Dr. Michel. "Thanks for the check-up, and for our little talk."

"No problem. I hope you guys visit again soon." When they exited the clinic, Shepard spoke again. "So, what'd you guys talk about?"

"Oh, you know, this and that." Tali lied. Even though she felt bad about not telling him the truth, the Commander didn't seem to want to push her on the subject. They walked towards C-Sec's elevator in silence. Once they were on, Tali allowed her eyes to scan Shepard again, looking not just at his battle-scarred armor; which has likely been patched up from every battle, but also at his facial expression. He didn't look like a guy that was greiving the death of his entire team on Akuze; in fact, right now he looked as if he was at peace with himself at this present moment. His blue eyes were static as well; no emotion seemed to be flowing through them at all, unlike when he fought off that assassin to save her life.

She felt indebted to the man. He saved her life, payed for her medical bill, allowed him to join his team, and didn't ask for anything in return. It said a lot about him. He seemed to be a self-less individual; a figure missing in this galaxy, and he didn't seem to judge people based on their history. But if Dr. Michel was right, then he was a sad figure as well because of his harsh childhood and his mission on Akuze. It was because of his childhood that made Tali feel like his life was similar to her own on the flotilla; with the difference being he didn't live on an old ship that needed to constantly be repaired. And somehow, his history on Akuze made her want to hold him close and make him feel better. She also wanted to know more about this 'Jessica' he had known-

"The quarians endangered the entire galaxy when they let the geth free. I hope your people are properly contrite, Tali."

Garrus's words broke her from her conversation, making her mad at his insult. "As the turians are properly contrite for releasing the genophage upon the krogam?" She snapped.

"You're asuming sterilizing them was a mistake."

"I can think of another mistake your people made, Garrus." Shepard finally spoke up.

"What?"

"Do the words Relay-314 ring any bells?"

"Shepard-"

"You know, I think your species should give us reparations for the whole incident! Then you can all give the quarians reparations for not even allowing them the chance to settle down on another planet after their war with the geth!" Shepard's sudden bout of anger surprised Tali immensely. She never expected Shepard could possess a temper. "Garrus, since you're now part of the crew, the one thing you need to understand is that I will not allow discrimination between the rest of the crew based on race, color, gender, religion, or history. That means do _not _insult Tali or her people!"

The turian raised his hands in the air in defeat. "All right, Shepard. You've made your point. I'm sorry."

"Good. Now let's drop this and move on." As Shepard returned to normal, the elevator doors opened and Shepard led them to another elevator that was twice as big. The tubular elevator closed its glass doors and ascended up. Already there was some elevator music on.

"So, anyone like the elevator music?" Tali heard Shepard ask.

"You seriously like it?" Garrus asked.

"Surprisingly, yes. Ba-ba-ba-ba-bum-ba-da-ba-ba-bum-ba-da-ba-ba-bum-bum. Ba-da-ba-ba-bum-ba-da-ba-ba-bum-ba-ba-ba-ba-bum."

Tali laughed. "You're funny, Commander."

He shrugged. "Not really. I'm just full of those random moments."

They laughed until their elevator came to a stop at the top of the docking bay.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: First, I'd like to apologize for the long delay of the next chapter. I did warn you that I would be gone for about five days last week, but the few days after that, I either took little time to write this chapter, or I was too busy to write anything at all. However, I promise I'll try to make better timing on the release of the chapters so long as I don't have to work any more of those long work schedules. Second, the guy I give a shoutout to a lot, ProjektNemesis7, brought up something that I keep writing down. If you've realized, I kept mentioning that Tali had two fingers. That is because I consider the thumb to not be a finger exactly. So if you were confused by that, I hope this clears it up for anyone else who saw it and got confused.

Anyway, I'm hoping the next chapter will be the talk with Anderson, epic speech aboard the Normandy, and Shepard going to speak to his crew members down in the cargo hold. Shoutout to ProjektNemesis7 as well (you're awesome!) and to anyone else who makes the attempt of reviewing as much as he does. Review or PM any questions you have and I'll answer them ASAP if not immediately.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna play through Rannoch again.


	11. Chapter 10: Truth Be Told

Chapter 10: Truth Be Told

Zach walked up to the stuck-up politician and his captain standing outside the airlock. When Udina noticed him, he turned to face him.

"I've got big news, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as Captain of the Normandy. The ship is yours now."

Zach turned towards Anderson, who crossed his arms and nodded his head. "She's quick and quiet, and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a spectre. Treat her well, Commander."

"I'll take good care of her, sir." He replied.

"I know you will, Shepard."

"I want the truth. Why are you stepping down, sir?"

"You needed your own ship. A spectre can't answer to anyone but the council. And it's time for me to step aside."

"Come clean with me, Captain. You owe me that much."

"I was in your shoes twenty years ago, Shepard. The council was considering me for the spectres."

"Why didn't you tell me about this, sir?"

"What was I supposed to say?! I could've been a spectre? I failed, Commander. It's not something I'm proud of. Ask me later if you want details. All you need to know is that I was sent on a mission with Saren, and he made sure I was rejected. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes."

"I won't let you down, sir."

"Saren's gone. Don't even try to find him. But you know what he's after: the conduit. He has his geth scattered across the traverse looking for clues."

"We had reports of patrols of geth heading towards a colony in the Attican Beta, and there have been sightings on Noveria. Those are good places to look." Udina spoke.

"Find out what Saren is up to and bring him in for justice."

"I'll stop him." Zach said confidently.

"We have one more lead you can pursue. Matriarch Benezia, the other voice in the recording, has a daughter who specializes in the protheans. Her name is Liara. Dr. Liara T'soni. We believe she is somewhere in the Artemis Tau cluster investigating a prothean ruin."

"I might as well head there first. Admiral Kahouku asked for assistance with another matter somewhere in that cluster, so we can kill two birds with one stone."

"It's your decision, Commander. You're a spectre now. You don't answer to us."

Udina returned to his politician state. "But your actions reflect humanity as a whole. You make a mess and I'm stuck cleaning it up."

_Suck it up, princess. _"I'll take care of Saren. You take care of the political fallout."

"Not exactly the answer I was hoping for." Udina shook his head. "Just remember: you were a human long before you were a spectre. I have a meeting to attend to. Captain Anderson can answer any questions you may have." And the stuck-up man walked away, unaware of Zach's gestures of his gun firing into Udina's back.

Stark walked up to visit his girlfriend before he went to the Alliance HQ on the Citadel to ask for his assignment. His girlfriend was Nyrina Crae, a four-hundred sixty-three year old asari matron. Currently, she was working for the Serrice Council to design better armor, but she was a mercenary when she was a maiden. Strangely, she had never tried mating with anyone before, which seemed unusual for an asari of her age. What was stranger to Stark was the fact she stayed with him after finding out about his violent past. He expected most girls to not even want to be in the same room with a man like him, but Nyrina has stayed with him for over a year now.

He pressed the doorbell button on the panel next to her door, and a few seconds later, a beautiful asari stood in the doorway. Her blue skin was pale, and her figure was perfect by nature. Her blue eyes matched the color of her dress real well. She was breathtaking, and she was Stark's to hold.

Nyrina smiled. "Stark. It's good to see you again." Stark leaned in gently for a kiss upon her lips; soft as an angel's grace. Her very scent brought Stark peace, and a kiss made him feel light as air. He still didn't understand how he could be with someone so beautiful, but he thanked whatever god or force controlled the galaxy for letting him be with her.

"I wanted to visit." He replied cheerfully.

Nyrina looked down to see his knife strapped to his boot. "You know, you probably could've left the knife behind before you came to visit."

"I have it just in case some bastard tried to come after you."

"As much as I love how protective you are of me, Stark, it worries me when you carry that thing. It's never really been used for good."

"Yesterday it was."

"Let me guess: the dead turian in the alley near the embassies?"

"How'd you-"

"I do have friends in C-Sec, you know. They came here asking if I had seen you; said they wanted to ask a few questions. They suspected you were responsible because of how you always carry that thing around."

"What'd you say?"

"I was honest with them. I told them I hadn't seen you all day and didn't know where you were."

Stark stepped inside of her apartment. "That turian was an assassin working for Saren Arterius, who wanted some quarian dead because she had evidence the Alliance could use against him."

"You don't sound too thrilled about doing the right thing."

"After I rescued the quarian, she found her way to Commander Shepard, who is now the first human spectre."

"Oh." Nyrina bowed her head, finally understanding why he was here. "And you came to visit me because you need to distract yourself from your regrets."

"I came to visit because I care about you, Nyrina. I want to be with you." He walked to her and took her hands. "I don't know why you stick around after all of the shit I have done, but I'm glad you stay. It is because of you, I try to be better, even if I fail and have to start again."

"I stay because you're worth staying with, Henry." Nyrina whispered. "And I want to help you be a better person. But you still hold anger towards Shepard, and it worries me. It makes me think no matter how much of a good person you bring yourself to become, there'll still be that dark flame burning inside of your heart. I fear you'll be bitter for the rest of your shorter life span."

"Still bragging about how you'll remain attractive even after I'm nothing but dust?" Stark joked.

Nyrina laughed. "No. But seriously, you need to find a way to douse that dark fire inside."

"Only Shepard's death can do that. But now it's near impossible."

"Is there no other way to stop you from throwing your life away for revenge?"

"Maybe. But I can't see any alternative right now."

"Then I guess I better get to work finding an alternative for you, you big brute." She laughed as he picked her up and spun her around.

"You're one to talk, my ex-mercenary girlfriend."

"Stark, that part of my life is behind me."

"That's why I said 'ex', Nyrina. But if I'm correct, you still have your original mercenary flight suit locked up in your closet." He pointed a thumb towards her room. "I should take you on a mission some time."

"And see you slit the throats of some batarian mercenary? I'll pass."

"Suit yourself, but you'd be missing an opportunity to use your biotics again. I know you've been itching to use them for a while now."

"If I went to use my biotics again for a change, you'd be competing with your own. And you're a powerful biotic for a human."

Stark let his fist glow the purple tint of a biotic. "Sure, but I've heard interesting rumors you tore people in half with yours."

"Hey," Nyrina snapped. "I was a very young maiden, and I liked the contracts I took against people."

"How old were you?" Stark's grin made Nyrina sigh.

"I was 107 when it happened, all right?"

"All right." He leaned in and kissed her again. "God, I could do that all night."

"Why don't we have dinner first. Then you can have these lips to yourself all you want."

"If you insist." Stark brushed his lips against hers, "I'll come back at eight?"

"That sounds like a good time. I'll see you then."

"See you then." Stark let her go, heading for the door to talk to his bosses to see if there was any work he could do out in the galaxy.

Back aboard the Normandy, Zach had led Garrus and Tali down to the cargo bay to get themselves situated. He went over to a locker and started to explain. "The lockers here have a four-number code to keep soldiers' equipment safe. If the light next to the buttons is blue, it's a free locker. The light is red or green when it is locked or unlocked, respectively. Go ahead. Give it a try."

Tali stepped up to the locker closest to Wrex, who was grinning at his new ship mates; a turian genetics stated he should hate, and a quarian who was likely awestruck by her new Commander. But Tali didn't know he was thinking that as she typed in four numbers: 8-2-5-4. Her locker opened, and she put in her shotgun and tech mines.

"Good job, Tali. Try to remember that combination. I'd rather not try to hack a locker because a combination was forgotten."

"Don't worry. I'll remember." She stepped away and let Garrus choose one of the two empty lockers. Choosing the locker next to Wrex's, he typed in his code: 4-8-6-7. The locker opened, and he placed his sniper rifle in gently, granting him a complaint from Wrex.

"You know the gun isn't made of glass, Vakarian."

"No, but after all of the calibrations I did to this gun, I'd prefer to keep it at peak condition."

Wrex grunted. "Whatever." Ignoring the krogan, Garrus placed in his assault rifle in after his sniper was secured. Closing the locker, he noticed the mako behind him. "Shepard, I think I'll spending most of my time calibrating that thing whenever I'm down here."

"As long as the gun works, you can have all the fun you want with that thing." Zach turned to Tali. "If you want, Tali, you can work with the engineering team on the drive core back there. I haven't seen it myself yet, but I think you'll be surprised at what it looks like."

"Are you sure that's wise, Shepard?" Ashley spoke from her spot over at the armory.

"Absolutely. Quarians are said to be excellent technicians and mechanics. And I know Tali has a way with technology. We can use someone like her."

"Thank you, Shepard." Tali spoke, blushing behind her mask at the Commander's offer and comment. "I'll get to work right away."

"Make yourself at home, Tali. I hope you'll be welcomed with open arms." The smile she saw him give her made her heart quiver. She was very happy that she was welcomed into his crew. It made her even happier that she was working with a man that was so intriguing.

Garrus coughed, followed by a harsher cough from Ashley and a comment from Wrex. "Can you two stop coughing? I don't want what she's having."

"Who's she?" Garrus asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Miss what's-her-name Williams. If she gets me sick I'll kill her. And if you get me sick, turian, you'll kill me without that damn sniper rifle of yours."

"Excuses, Wrex. That's all you have." He beat his hands on his chest as if he was challenging Wrex, who cracked his knuckles in response.

"Okay. Let's not go too far." Zach intervened. "I don't want to pay for any damages to the ship before we even leave."

"Don't worry, Shepard. Just some krogan hot-air" Wrex responded.

"Don't mind us," Garrus agreed. "Just messing around with the krogan I'm sharing a deck with for however long we're fighting together."

"Let's hope so." Zach turned to face Tali again, only to find out she had already left for the engine room. Shrugging his shoulders, he headed for the elevator to use his own locker, which was strangely on the same deck as his cabin instead of in the cargo bay. Typing in his code: 9-2-2-4, he secured his weapons before heading to his cabin to remove his armor. As he unhooked every piece, he remembered his past missions: his survival on Akuze, when he fought Stark on Torfan, sparring with Maine during his N7 training, and countless other missions after. He also remembered every soul that he either took or saw get taken. He wasn't used to killing after what had happened during training years ago, and he still hadn't fully overcome the fact that friends and family were dead. It was hard for his good soul, but he knew he could handle the duty so long as he did it.

He looked over at the desk with the terminal and headed for the drawer. Inside was a box he carried with him for six years. Within its contents layed his reason he couldn't let go of the final events that transpired on that fateful day. It was a burden to want to remember the past, yet it was worse to torture himself with his nightmares of the events.

Or worse.

Carefully placing the box back into the drawer, he retreated from his cabin and headed out. When he exited, he saw Kaidan heading towards the medical wing. He was rubbing the back of his head.

"You okay, Kaidan?" He spoke up.

"Just a bit of a headache," he replied. "I'll be fine soon, but a check-up from the doctor couldn't hurt."

"Okay. I just wanted to know if you were okay."

"Sure thing, Commander. Don't worry. I should be fine soon." Kaidan then walked into the med bay, and Zach headed for the bridge to get Joker to head for the Artemis Tau cluster.

Tali looked around the engine room in awe at the sight she was seeing. The drive core was enormous, and there were people working cooperatively to keep it in working order.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" Tali turned to face a man with tan skin and dark hair, wearing an alliance uniform Captain Anderson had also worn. His eyes were full of kindness and curiosity.

"Oh, my name is Tali. The Commander said I could help out down here in the engineering room."

"By all means, Tali. Make yourself at home. I'm sure you can help out around the core."

"Thanks, mister..."

"Adams. Call me Engineer Adams."

Ashley walked towards the elevator to drag herself up to the bridge. She was surprised, however, when the krogan and turian the Commander had picked up walked in behind her, pressing the ascend button. She felt pinned by them standing behind her, but she kept her mouth shut from any nasty comments she had. It was bad enough she had to share a deck with them, but a cramped elevator was worse.

_This is going to be a rough mission. _

On the bridge, Zach walked to the cockpit. Already Joker was in his chair ready to take them to their next destination. It surprised him how a pilot could be ready so quickly to go fly to another planet.

"I heard about what happened to Captain Anderson. Survived a hundred battles and then gets taken down by backroom politics. Just watch your back, Commander. If something goes wrong, you're next on their chopping block."

_It doesn't feel like I should own the ship, though_. "Captain Anderson should be the one in charge. It feels like I'm stealing the ship from him."

"Yeah, the captain got screwed. But it wasn't your fault, nobody could've predicted this." Zach rubbed the back of his neck. "Everyone on this ship is behind you one-hundred percent. Intercom's open. If you have anything to say to the crew, now's the time."

Zach leaned in and pressed the button, deciding to be honest with his crew. "This is Commander Shepard speaking. We have our orders. Find Saren before he finds the conduit. I won't lie to you, crew. This mission's not going to be easy. This began as an attack on a human settlement in the traverse, but we know Saren won't stop there. He'll terrorize the entire galaxy if we don't stop him. Our enemy knows we're coming. Wherever Saren goes, we'll follow him. Wherever his geth will be, we'll defeat them. I won't rest until Saren has been brought to justice and the galaxy is safe. Humanity needs to do this; not just for our own sake, but for the sake of every being in the galaxy. Saren must be stopped, and I promise you all we will stop him!" The intercom cut off.

"Well said, Commander. The captain would be proud."

"The captain gave up everything so we can have this chance. We can't fail." Zach walked away, watching as Ashley, Wrex, and Garrus nodded their heads before walking to the door downstairs.

"Yes, sir." Joker replied. And so, the ship slowly exited the docking bay and headed for the mass relay to head for the Artemis Tau cluster.

Chellick walked to Executor Palin's office with the message from Garrus that was sent to his omni-tool. He knew Palin would either have a fit or wouldn't be surprised by Garrus's resignation. He himself could hardly believe it. Opening the door, he walked in to Palin's office, already a look of concern on his face.

"What is it, Chellick?" Palin spoke blandly.

"Vakarian sent me a message. He's filled out his resignation."

"Figures. That boy was always short-fused. What's he doing now?"

"He's joined Commander Shepard's crew aboard the Normandy to take Saren down."

"Damn it, Vakarian. You always were more trouble than you were worth. Thank you, Chellick. You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir." And just like that, Chellick walked out of the office to head back to his office.

Zach walked back down to the elevator himself which took quite a bit to reach his floor because it had dropped off the three earlier. He didn't know how many floors were on the Normandy, but he knew the elevators were slow as hell. Waiting for it to return to his floor was complete torture. When it finally reached him, he stepped on and descended to the cargo bay. Everything had been as he left it earlier. He walked over to the krogan, who decided to chat with him.

"Nice ship, Shepard. What can I do for you?"

"What's your story, Wrex?"

"There's no story." Wrex's response was cold. "Go ask the quarian if you want stories."

"You krogan live for centuries. You must've had some exciting adventures."

"Well, there was that one time the turians nearly destroyed our species. That was fun."

"I bet that was. You know, they almost did the same to us."

"It's not the same."

"It seems pretty much the same to me."

"So your people were hit with a genetic mutation? An infection that makes only one in one-thousand infants survive birth? And I bet it's slowly destroying your own species?"

"I guess it's not all the same."

"I don't expect you to understand, but _don't _compare humanity's fate to the krogan." The anger in Wrex's voice was apparent.

"I was just trying to make small talk." Zach apologized. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Your ignorance doesn't offend me, Shepard. As for the krogan, I gave up on them long ago. The genophage infected us, but it's not what's killing us."

"Are your people really dying?"

"We're sure as hell not getting any stronger! We too far-spread; no krogan wants to stay in the home system."

"Most species leave their homeworld."

"But they go to colonize other worlds. We're not settlers. We're warriors. We're born to fight, not raise crops. That's why we were uplifted."

"What can you tell me about the genophage?"

"Ask the salarians if you want details. They made it. All I know is it makes breeding damn-near impossible. Every krogan is infected. Every one."

"Why don't the krogan try to find a cure?"

"When was the last time you saw a krogan scientist? If you were to ask a krogan if he would rather cure the genophage or fight for credits, he'll choose fighting every time."

"So long, Wrex." Zach decided to end the conversation.

"Shepard." The krogan nodded. Zach turned around to see Garrus typing up on a terminal set up next to the mako. Initially, Zach thought he may have been ordering parts for calibrations, but further observation showed he was typing a message; probably to a family member. When Garrus finished, he turned around to face Shepard.

"Sending a message to someone, Garrus?"

"Yeah. My father just sent me a message about me joining the crew on the Normandy and his opinion on it. Speaking of which, I wanted to thank you for letting me join up. I knew working with a spectre would be better than life at C-Sec."

"You've worked with a spectre before?"

"Well, no. But everybody knows what they're like. They get the job done their way; no rules, no restrictions. But in C-Sec, you're buried by constant rules. There's just so much red tape and protocol, I felt that I was not getting the job done."

"Well, C-Sec most likely has all of those rules and red tape because they're either scared or wary of the consequences."

"What do you mean?"

"Say that I'm a terrorist and you're the only officer in the immediate area. I threaten to detonate a bomb in the embassies and I'm holding onto a detonator in one hand and a gun in the other, pointed at a turian ambassador. What's your first instinct?"

"I'd shoot you in the head."

"But let's add in two unknown factors: I have a secondary detonator built inside my chest that will still activate the bomb if I die, and I have a group of soldier hidden to gun you down if you make any sudden moves. What would C-Sec have you do even if you still didn't know about these factors?"

Garrus stood in thought for a second. "They would have me call for back-up to sweep the immediate area before I took action. If they wanted you alive, they would likely surround you and force you to surrender."

"And if I didn't surrender?"

"We would use concussive rounds to knock you out, hopefully stopping you from activating the detonator."

"Very good. It ensures there are little, if no casualties at all, and you apprehend a terrorist so he can be tried for his crimes."

"But Saren won't be playing by any of our rules. He'll play dirty and we need to match his tactics in order to stop him."

"Fighting fire with fire only makes the situation worse, Garrus. I don't have to stoop to his level in order to defeat him, and neither do you, Garrus."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?"

"We adapt our tactics to counteract his. If he sent a geth ship against a civilian town, we send the mako against it and disable the ship's weapons and drop pods. If Saren came at us with biotics, we would counteract with concussive shots, knocking out his barriers before we disable or kill him. If a geth prime were to fire a rocket from his gun, we counteract by sabotaging the weapon before disabling his shields, giving you the perfect chance to destroy its optic sensors with your sniper rifle far away."

"So we adapt the rules we have to counteract the rules Saren has?"

"It's what I learned living on the streets of Earth. I was successful at surviving every threat that came my way."

"Hmm. Interesting. I think I understand."

"You can think about it some more while we wait for our approach to the Artemis Tau cluster. When we find this prothean dig site, I plan on taking you and Williams on the ground."

"Yes, sir." Garrus turned back to his monitor, allowing Zach to slip into the engineering room. When he entered, the man in charge, Engineer Adams, approached him.

"Hey, Commander, you know that quarian that you picked up? She been down here asking questions about our drive core."

"Is she bothering you?"

"What? No. She's amazing! She knows a lot about engines and ships. She's even offered ideas on how to upgrade some of our systems. I think you made a good choice bringing her along."

"I figured we could use her help."

"Well, you must have an eye for talent. Give her a month on the ship, and I'm sure she'll know more about the ship than I do."

"Well, what do you know about the ship that I haven't had time to read on?"

"Well, the obvious part is the ship was co-designed by both the Alliance and the turian heirarchy. But what is not known to the public is that the ship contains the IES stealth systems. It's technology has been designed to capture the ship's emmisions so scanners can't pick us up. Of course, an enemy looking out a window can see the ship move in space, so we're not completely invisible like a salarian infiltrator. What the best thing about the ship would be is the Tantalus drive core. It's twice the size of a normal drive core, and it gives the ship more speed and power. It's the fastest ship in the galaxy."

"Interesting. What about you, Adams? What's your service record like?"

"Commander, you can name any type of Alliance ship, and I can tell you I've served on them all. My last posting was on a beautiful vessel called the Tokyo, but it couldn't hold a candle to the Normandy."

"Carry on, Adams."

"Aye, aye, sir." After the man walke away, Zach spotted Tali working on a terminal in the left corner. For a brief second, his mind flashed back to his dream before reaching the Citadel; her figure and veil nearly matching the purple woman from his dream. He wasn't very superstitious about anything, but when a dream becomes reality, it did warrant caution. Shaking it off, he approached Tali, who turned as if she knew he was coming.

"Your ship's _amazing_, Shepard! I never thought anyone could make such a big drive core fit into a ship this small! I'm starting to understand why you humans have been so successful. I never knew Alliance ships were so advanced!"

"Well, the Normandy's a prototype; cutting edge technology."

"A month ago, I was making a hull patch on a tug freighter in the flotilla. Now I'm on the most advanced ship in Citadel space! I have to thank you again for letting me join up. Travelling on a ship like this is a dream come true for me!"

"I had no idea you found ships so interesting."

"It comes with being a quarian. Ships are our most valuable resources. Our entire flotilla is home to seventeen million quarians, and we all contribute to helping the entire fleet as a whole. That's why our pilgrimages are so important."

"Why don't you tell me more about the pilgrimage. I'm curious as to how that works."

"Well, when a quarian reaches a certain age limit, we leave our birth ships behind to embark on a pilgrimage to find resources to help the flotilla. We set out alone, only to return when we have found an appropriate gift to bring back to the flotilla to present to the captain of the respective ship we wish to join. Doing so keeps genetic diversity among the fleet."

"They just send you out alone?"

"It's not like they just cast us out or anything. Before we leave, we are given implants to fight off disease, as well as training for if we are to run into any sort of trouble from things like bandits."

"At the end of this pilgrimage, can a captain choose to reject a gift?"

"That doesn't happen often. Most captains usually accept it as a sense of tradition, but there is a stigma to handing out a sub-standard gift. Most pilgrims usually wait until they have something worth presenting, like food, medicine, or even parts for a ship. Some pilgrims even find derelict ships that they repair and bring back to the fleet. When a captain accepts a gift like that, the pilgrim is assimulated into the crew and is presented a new enviro-suit that states they have reached adulthood."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"And you're still considered a child?"

"That's just how it is with quarians. Why? What age are humans usually marked as becoming adults?"

"Most of the time, the age is twenty. But we have rules on Earth that certain things cannot be bought until we are a certain age. For example, we can't drink or buy alcohol until we were twenty-one where we lived. However, I started drinking Voltage when I was sixteen; a direct result of hanging out with a gang on the streets of the city I grew up in. Now I rarely drink real alcohol."

"You broke the laws of your own race?" Tali's eyes widened behind the mask.

"I had to do what it took to survive. But my morals kept me from becoming someone like... Saren, we'll say."

"Or Stark?"

"Stark is a different example. He's careless, bitter, and he hates batarians with a passion. But I knew him before his world spiraled on Torfan. He was once kind, caring, and respected. People now see him as a monster; The Butcher of Torfan. I saw him as a man; a loyal friend. But now we're no longer friends."

"Because of Torfan?"

"No. Our friendship ended before that." Zach stretched and yawned. "But I'll save that story for later. I think I'm going to retire now. Good night, Tali."

"Uh, good night, Shepard." As Tali watched the Commander walk away, she took a moment to think of those final moments of the conversation. How is the Commander could break the laws of Earth and become a lawbringer himself? How is it a man as brutal as Stark was once a good person? And what did the end of their friendship really do to both men?

Who exactly were these men?

As Zach walked out of the elevator and to his cabin, he yawned again, making his eyes water. Rubbing away whatever tears were forming in his eyes, he opened the door, quickly checked for any new extranet messages, and collapsed on his bed; not even bothering to take his clothes off.

And as his eyes shut, he knew yet again he was falling into a cold nightmare.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: To answer why this chapter took too long as well is because I have either A) been busy stuck playing Skyrim, Halo Reach, and Mass Effect 3 still or B) have had a problem with either using full canon or adapting it. In a sense, I might be getting bored of the canon part of the story. The next chapter, however, might be out in a few days, as it is not canon. It will be the first nightmare you'll see of Zach's, along with the first flashback to another character of Zach's past, and a quick moment with Zach and Tali.

Also, I'd like to point out that Nyrina Crae, Stark's asari girlfriend, is actually a multiplayer character I created on ME3. She is my asari adept, and more multiplayer characters will be appearing throughout the story, although they'll be touched upon mostly in the ME3 side story, Freedom. Shoutout to ProjektNemesis7 again (bask in your fame, Companion), and I guess I'll also shoutout to TW6464, as they both seem to be the most active reviewers at this time.

So until next time, guys.


	12. Chapter 11: No Peace Remembered In

Chapter 11: No Peace Remembered In the Past

_No. No! How could she have done this?! How could she kill masters?! _The teenager's thoughts raced as she saw her masters dead on the floor; the gun in her hand all of the evidence that it was her fault. Placing her hands atop of her shaved head, she slowly began hyperventilating, walking away from the trail of blood coming from the holes in her masters' chests. Remembering of the shock collar on her neck, she stepped over the dead body of one of her masters, plucking the keys off of his belt. Slowly bringing the trembling hand that held them to her neck, she slid in the right key, disengaging the shock protocol that was too late to execute as she shot her masters.

_No. Not she. No. A very bad, dirty girl._

_An innocent girl._

She did not know where that last thought came from, but it was not her voice in her head. It sounded like a boy or a young man. She tried to remember what that voice was, but she screamed when the horrible memories that took away thirteen years of her life as a free being returned to haunt her. As the device in her head stopped humming, the shock collar completely fell off. Clipping the pistol onto her belt, she rubbed her arms, crying at the horrendous betrayal of her masters. They never expected the raid from the soldiers that came in, and they never expected that she took the gun from the holster inside her master's chamber. She had no control over her body as she shot them all dead while they were still in shock.

She was a monster. Murderer.

_Innocent._

Again, the voice that she knew from somewhere spoke. It was horrible that she wanted to remember who that voice was. She didn't want to remember anything about her past, for it was too bloody.

_"Peace to you, broken iris." _She turned to face a man, wearing a suit of heavy combat armor. It contained a light shade of blue; as blue as the sky, with gold lines painted over parts of it to form a design. _"I mean you no harm."_

"Who are you? What do you want with her?" She spoke, her voice trembling.

_"I am one who seeks to grant you peace. Head to the Citadel. You will find someone you lost, and may lose again. They will help you get better." _The man started to walk away from her.

"Wait!" She pleaded. "She doesn't understand!"

_"She will if she follows my command." _And just like that, the figure vanished, leaving her behind in bewilderment. What had just happened? What did she see? Why did the figure say go to the Citadel? And who was it she lost that she may lose you again?

"She has no choice, does she?" So she ran from the scene, ran until she couldn't run anymore, ran until she saw the spaceport. The cargo freighter was open, and nobody was in sight to catch her. Slipping behind some crates, she hid until the freighter's ramps closed, her breathing becoming harder and harder as she slowly descended into sleep.

She slept until that ship made it to the Citadel three days later.

_Inside Zach's dreamworld, the forest he learned to fear was surrounding him. That meant this wasn't a reliving of Akuze, but a far worse nightmare. Wearing his full suit of armor from breather mask to his white boots, he wandered, slowly waiting for what was to come._

_"Well, well. Look at what we have here." Zach turned to face her, the gaping wound on her side still oozing with her blood and the venom that scorched through her light suit of Phoenix armor. Her green eyes glowed with such an evil tint even the Devil would think twice to even touch her. Her auburn brown hair was dirty from hiding in the forest, as were plates on her armor. "I'm so happy you're here to play."_

_"You're not here to play, Jess. You're here to mess with my mind."_

_"That's what playing is, Zach. And guess who else decided to join us." The evil figure before him spun around, bringing a hand to cup her lips. "Oh, Kyle!"_

_Out of the woods came Toombs, his assassin armor scarred with the tooth marks of the thresher maw that dragged him to hell. His own eyes held the evil glow that Jessica's eyes shared. "Hello, Shepard." He brought his hand up to point a gun at him._

_"Toombs?" Zach's face grew wide with shock as he saw the gun. "What are you doing?!"_

_"You let me die on Akuze, Shepard."_

_"You let us _both _die! Why? Because we were actually trying to make you respond to me again? You betrayed me _twice, _Shepard. Once when you didn't hide me from my father's goons when I practiced my biotics, and when you let me die on Akuze, Zach!"_

_"_You _jumped in the way of that thresher maw, Jess."_

_"You know that's a fucking lie, Zach." She brought up her own pistol towards him. "You shouldn't even be alive!"_

_All of a sudden, a gunshot was fired, and Toombs went down as a lump on the floor. Zach turned around to face Commander Ericson, the one in charge of leading the entire unit on Akuze. His helmet was melted on the side where the venom hit his face, but his eye wasn't scarred like the rest of his face._

_"Ericson?"_

_"Goddammit, Shepard." The rugged voice of his old commander spoke. "How many times did I tell you to move on with your issues with Sergeant Weaver when I was alive? You still can't even control her when she and I are nothing but a figment of your imagination." He tossed a pistol over to Zach, who caught it as it unfolded into its full form. The two men pointed their guns at the evil illusion that was once Jessica Weaver._

_"Jess, stand down. I don't want to do this." Zach spoke calmly, now glad he held a gun in his hand to defend himself._

_The evil witch laughed. "Check your six, Commander."_

_Zach turned around only to see Ericson's throat be slit by a more brutal image of Stark, his brother Robert standing beside him; the red stain on his neck dried into a black clump._

"NO!" _Ericson's lifeblood soaked into the ground as he fell to his knees, the smile on the Stark twins' faces filled with evil._

_"You killed me, too, Shepard." The lifeless face of Robert muttered, his pale skin illuminating off of the snow on the ground._

_"I was trying to stop you from harming an admiral. I never meant to have you die!"_

_"Lies!" Henry screamed, his face still emmiting his life blood. "You destroyed my life, Shepard! You took away the only family I had left! The batarians took away the rest of them! But I got revenge on the batarians, Shepard! And I swear to God, your death will come soon!"_

_All of a sudden, Stark's head exploded from the gunshot he took._

_"What the fuck?!" Robert's lifeless corpse turned around to face a figure blocked from Shepard's view. "How did _you _get here?!" His corpse then dropped as well, a hole in his head. But when the body fell to the floor, the shooter was nowhere in sight._

_"Who was that?" Zach faced Jessica again, her rage apparent as her face grew colder. "Who did you let into your dreams, Shepard?!"_

_"How am I supposed to know?! I couldn't see who it was!"_

_Frustrated, Jessica aimed her pistol at Zach, but didn't have time to pull the trigger as a bullet ran through her shoulder from behind her. She screamed in agony, giving Zach the chance to flee. But not before long did he see a large purple shape whiz past him, destroying trees next to him. He knew that she had thrown her biotics at him, but he didn't care. She missed._

_Another biotic attack knocked him off of his feet._

_"Damn it!" As he struggled to recover, he heard the gun hovering above his head. Sure enough, he saw her face when he raised his head. There was no fear, no remorse, not even a drop of the love she claimed to have._

_Just hatred._

_"Don't do this, Jess." He pleaded._

_"It's too late to plead, Zach. You ruined any chance of remorse." In the final seconds of the dream, a shade of purple appeared as Jess attempted to pull the trigger._

Jumping up from his bed, Zach rubbed his eyes in confusion, trying hard to wrap his head around his new dream. Never before had his nightmares seemed to end with such a cliffhanger towards the end. Usually, it was his death. But this time, Ericson and an unknown ally appeared to rescue him. Ericson failed, unfortunately, and whoever this new figure was made certain he didn't know if he actually survived this time. However, the shade of purple immediately made him think about Tali.

_It's probably a coincidence,_ he thought to himself. _The purple figured appeared before I even met Tali... just a few hours before I met her._ In the end, Zach found that he was thinking too much on this, and decided to switch to Ericson. It was rather strange that he finally showed up in his dream after six years. That made him reflect on when they first met...

_SSV Hastings, 14:00 pm_

_Orbiting Earth, April 20, 2177_

_As Zach boarded the Hastings from the airlock; his guns slung onto their magnetic clips and his bags in his hands, his friend, Corporal Kyle Toombs, kept humming some old tune from about two hundred years ago._

_"What on Earth are you humming, Toombs?"_

_"'In The Air Tonight' by Phil Collins. It's good for a very old song."_

_"The remake that Nonpoint made in the early 21st century was better."_

_"No way! Remakes of things never work right!"_

_"It's still better, Toombs."_

_"Whatever, Shepard. No one cares about your opinion." As they walked to the bridge, they ran into Admiral Hackett and Commander Ericson, two respected leaders and veterans of the First Contact War. What was strange was that Ericson passed away promotions that could get him the same status as Hackett, as if he like combat. Zach could tell that was a man that would rather die in combat than work behind a desk for the rest of his life._

_"Corporal Toombs. Lance Corporal Shepard." Commander Ericson saluted them, to which they returned the salute._

_"Commander. Admiral." Zach addressed the two men in front of him._

_"Admiral Hackett has filled me in on your dossiers. After all of your training on Earth, Hackett is thinking about possibly letting one of you boys join the N7 program, assuming you do more than prove yourself on this mission." Ericson faced Toombs, "But no disrespect to you, boy, when I say I believe Shepard has a better chance of winning the honor than you. After that stint with Private Stark and besting the Hero of Elysium in hand-to-hand combat, I think he has the guts and glory to take the honor."_

_"Believe me, sir, I have more faith in him as well." Toombs surprisingly agreed._

_"Although, Shepard, I will ask you do not preach about the gospel while under my command. I've seen things that have made me lose faith in God."_

_"I never planned on preaching, sir. I only plan on believing what I wish to believe. If you accept that I believe in a higher power, then I will accept that you don't, sir."_

_"Very well, Shepard. I accept those terms."_

_"Since you two arrived late due to the crash at the spaceport, I am briefing you now on your assignment." Admiral Hackett tapped on his omni-tool. "No more than twelve hours ago, we lost contact with Akuze's new colony, Bellator. We has a probe scan the area, but no life forms were found on the colony. We're sending in Ericson's unit to investigate the site from the ground. The colony is still small, so we're sending you on foot."_

_"When we get to the colony," Ericson continued, "I'll be splitting up the unit into small groups to patrol the area. I'll hold a larger force in the colony itself."_

_"What will we be doing?" Toombs asked._

_"I'm placing you two into a patrol group with Sergeant Jessica Weaver and Corporal David Armsby."_

_"Jessica Weaver?" Zach asked. But no one got to say anything as the woman herself came in from behind Ericson. She was wearing light Phoenix armor that fit tight against her slender figure, and she still wore that ring around her neck Zach remembered her having when she was a teenager. Her face and hair had not changed since the last time they met._

_"Well, well. Look who's finally here." She was smiling, but Zach wasn't._

_"I don't believe this." Zach started to storm off, but didn't get far as he crashed into- what did he crash into?_

_"Oops. Sorry. My bad. You didn't see me there." A Scottish voice was heard before a man in red armor appeared out of nowhere in front of him. His face was blocked out of view by the breather attachment on his helmet._

_"Goddamnit, Armsby. What did I tell you about using the camouflage system onboard?!" Ericson's voice boomed with rage._

_"Sorry, sir. It's just the camouflage system is just so fun to use! I mean, think of all the practical jokes a man could play on his superior officers!"_

_"Or the number of people you could bump into on accident." Zach stated._

_"Or the number of women you can be caught sneaking up on in the shower!" Jessica added, furious at the man in red._

_"Hey, I didn't know you could undress that quickly, lassie! Besides, my mind wasn't focused on the fact that you were heading for the showers! I just wanted to know who was leading my patrol on Akuze."_

_"Well, you learned too much!" She shouted._

_"Yeah. Lay off the biotics a bit, though, lassie. I've got a bloody headache from the force of my head hitting the wall, and my brain's already damaged as it is."_

_"That's what I figured." Jess turned to Ericson. "Commander, I want this idiot transferred to another patrol unit."_

_"Sorry, Sergeant. Adapt. I'm not changing the groups after they've been made."_

_"What?! Surely, you can't be serious!" Zach and Jessica said in unison._

_"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."_

_"Ah! I get it!" Toombs said, obviously stating he knew what Ericson was referencing._

_"Admiral, can't you do something about this?" Zach asked._

_"Sorry, Shepard. This is Ericson's choice. Whatever problems you have with his choice, you'll have to get over." Hackett then turned to face Corporal Armsby. "And Corporal, stay out of the women's facilities from now on. I'd hate to lose a sniper with an eye as good as yours."_

_Corporal Armsby saluted in response. "Uh, yes, sir, Admiral boss-man. You won't have any more trouble from me. I promise."_

_"I'd better not, soldier. Thank you all. You're dismissed." After a few salutes from the five soldiers in front of him, Hackett left._

_"Whatever issues you three have, they end now. You're all together on the ground team when we touch down on Akuze. Dismissed." The commander left them there, making Zach anxious to leave._

_"I'm finding a bunk." Zach started to walk away._

_"I have a few words for you, Corporal." Jessica commanded._

_"Later." Zach snarled. Ignoring the protesting snarl back, the man he crashed into followed suite._

_"She looks mad at us. I don't know why, but I like you, Shepard. My name's Corporal Armsby, but some people call me Red."_

_"Well, I wish our introduction was a little better, Red. My name's Shepard. My first name is Zach."_

_"That name doesn't seem to fit you."_

_"Believe me, I've heard that plenty of times. Your first name's David, right?"_

_"Oh, yes. My mother named me that. She was a bit crazy, though. I got some of her craziness, but the rest of it came from accidents."_

_"What kind of accidents?"_

_"You know, concussions, fights, my mum crashing into Scotland Yard when I was eight."_

_"You're kidding." Zach laughed. "Your mom crashed into Scotland Yard?"_

_"She was very crazy! Me, I seemed sane before, but now everybody thinks I'm bloody insane!"_

_As the two men walked away, Toombs was left standing with Sergeant Weaver._

_"So, you knew Shepard before I met him?"_

_"I used to." The woman's voice was cold as she walked away._

As reality sunk back in, he realized that he actually appreciated Ericson more than he gave credit for. It was still bad that he saw the man go down; his mask melted and his face horrifically scarred, but he did respect him, even though their views on religion were different. He didn't really care that the man had no faith in God; frankly, with what Zach had seen of the galaxy, he had plenty of understanding why no one would believe at all. The Commander had respected him, and in his book, respect was about as good (if not more important) as liking him. Despite Ericson's choice to stick the four of them together, he respected the man for his sacrifices both during the First Contact War and on Akuze, where he gave his life to save his men.

Unfortunately, his sacrifice may have been in vain, if not for Zach's survival.

Getting up from his bed, he decided to check on progress or grab a cup of water or-

Tali was sitting at the small table at the mess hall, busy trying to install an advanced heat sink into her shotgun while ignoring the chatter from the two at the opposite end of the table. However, the part was hard to screw in, and it wouldn't stop moving.

_This really isn't my thing._ She thought to herself as she removed the part again for the fourth time in a row. After all of the work down in the engineering room, Tali had been given the chance to get some rest, but it was so quiet, she couldn't fall asleep. So instead, she went to her locker, grabbed her shotgun, and brought it up to the mess hall to try and upgrade. However, her knowledge of upgrading weapons was very little.

"Tali." She raised her head at the sound of Shepard's voice. "You couldn't sleep, either?"

She turned to face him, realizing the man looked very tired. There were bags under his eyes, and he wasn't smiling like he was when they met.

"I just felt like trying to upgrade my weapons. So far, I've been unsuccessful at replacing my heat sink." She turned around to observe her shotgun again, only to realize Shepard's head was hovering over her shoulder.

"I think I found your problem." He grabbed a part from the table, inserting it into a small socket above the trigger. "That's the socket that activates the gun's firing sequence."

"Oh," Tali shook her head. "Keelah, I'm such a fool."

"Keelah?"

"It's a quarian word that derives from old Keelish, the language we spoke before our exile."

"It's also a name for a human female."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Suddenly, Shepard slowly had hold of Tali's hands.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to guide your hands so you can finish your shotgun." Without resisting, Tali allowed Shepard to guide her hands as she slowly slid the heat sink in place, using the tool in her right hand to place on the cover that leads to the barrel of her shotgun and screw it on tightly. Releasing her hands, she slid back on the cover piece, folding up her shotgun back into its carrying mode.

"Thanks, Shepard. I thought Garrus was the only one that knew anything about upgrading guns."

"Well, when you're in the military and you're not on a mission, the best thing to do is clean and upgrade your weapons and armor. The equipment I've had has been with me since my first mission."

"That was Akuze, right? Dr. Michel told me about how you were on Akuze on a job gone wrong."

Whatever happiness was in Shepard's eyes helping her drained quickly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" She shut up when he placed a finger over her mouthpiece.

"It's okay, Tali." He walked over to the seat across from her. "My first job was Akuze, and a lot of good people died there. I was also on Torfan when Stark killed three hundred batarians. After those two missions, I ended up on less exciting jobs, either cleaning out pirates or peacefully negotiating with hostile people. Now, I'm on perhaps the biggest mission in the galaxy; one that can make a name for humanity." He looked up at Tali, "And perhaps with you onboard, one that could make a name for the quarians, too."

"Do you think so?"

"I sure as hell know I'll have the Alliance thank you for your contribution to aiding me."

Tali laughed. "You're joking."

"I sure as hell ain't joking, lassie." Shepard said, his voice sounding different.

"Keelah, what were you doing there?"

"I was trying to impersonate my friend, Red. On Earth, he was born in a country called Scotland. Their accent is different from other parts of the world."

"How diverse are your people? I've seen many humans with differences among them, like Samesh Batia. His accent and skin tone were different from yours."

"Humanity is very diverse. No two humans are alike, really, unless they're born identical twins. We all share similarities with some people, but there's always something different about everyone. There's different cultures, different religions, and different languages. I came from a country called America, and I lived in an old, worn-down city that seemed to be turning into a battlezone. I had no parents, no family, and no home. All I had was knowledge gathered on the street, the aid of a few friends, and a will to survive."

"You lived your whole childhood with nothing? That sounds worse than life on the flotilla!"

"We all live different lives, Tali. You at least had the comfort of a home. I didn't. But I got off of the streets and earned a career in the Alliance. And thanks to all of that, I now have a chance to prove humanity is ready to do its part for the galaxy." Shepard looked down to the table, smiling about something. "And it's all thanks to you, Tali."

Tali looked down at the table and saw what he was smiling about. Somewhere in their conversation, Tali had placed her hand atop of his. Nervously, she tried to pull it back, only to be stopped by his hand grabbing hers. He held it at its shape different from his own, and somehow Tali thought she noticed Shepard's eyes become peaceful instead of sad like they were before.

And to her, it was comforting.

_"Commander, I have found the location of the prothean dig site Ambassador Udina mentioned. I think you should come up here."_

Shepard sighed. "I'll be right up, Joker." Slowly releasing his hold of Tali's hand, he stood up from his seat, walking to the stairwell. Tali continued to sit there, wondering just what had happened in that one peaceful moment before Shepard left. When did she move her hand onto his? Why did he hold it for a bit before he was called away, glancing at it with a peaceful stare?

And ultimately, what was that odd feeling crawling delightfully through her skin about him holding her hand?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, if you're reading this on Halloween, Happy Halloween. If you're reading this after regaining power to your house after Sandy swept through the East Coast, consider yourselves lucky compared to the thousands of people who have lost their homes. If you're one of those people that lost your homes, I am sorry for your loss. Shoutout to the usual peeps (I'm too tired to write any more) and review/pm me for questions. I will answer ASAP.

Pray that Freddy Krueger doesn't kill me when I fall asleep...


	13. Chapter 12: Mako Misadventures

Chapter 12: Mako Misadventures

Walking back to Nyrina's apartment from his own, Stark pondered on the day's events. After yet another lecture from Anderson about how ruthless he was and why they still let him keep his job, the old man handed him a datapad and left. Reading through its contents, Stark found that a colony in the Matano cluster in the Maroon Sea has gone silent. Whatever communications had reached Alliance ears before they cut off were screaming and referencing to some 'Illusive Man' they knew about. Stark's orders were to investigate the colony on Chasca for any signs of pirate attacks or-worse-geth attacks on the colony.

Stark didn't like it. There was some strange signal going off in his mind that said this was a trap. But Anderson gave him the job because he knew that despite his reputation, Stark was one of the best. So Stark really had no choice in this matter. He would leave tomorrow, find the colony, investigate, and come back for his pay. There was nothing else to it.

Stepping at Nyrina's doorstep, he rubbed his hands nervously. He decided to leave his knife behind at his own apartment for the first time, so he felt naked without it. Granted, if anyone tried to attack him, he could unleash a biotic punch upon his attacker (he in fact did that to Shepard when he fought him on Torfan) and render him unconscious if not dead. But with his knife, he felt more focused on his goal.

That might've been Nyrina's concern.

He pressed the doorbell on the wall and was immediately answered by Nyrina's beautiful smile.

"Stark, you know you no longer have to ring the doorbell. You can just walk in whenever you want."

"I like ringing the doorbell to bring you to me." Stark smiled. "It makes me not feel like a stranger."

"You are perhaps the oddest human I have ever met."

"I try." He shrugged; a wide grin on his face.

"Sometimes you're very different when you're happy, too." Nyrina smiled.

"That's because I have someone like you to give me a reason to be happy." He brought her close for another kiss. Nyrina's lips locked to his own. For a few seconds, they were inseperable until she pulled away.

"Flatterer." She laughed.

"I have my moments." They walked over to the kitchen and sat themselves at the small table-counter area. "How was work?"

"Good. We've just figured out how to increase biotic amp and omni-tool damage towards opponents in the gauntlets. One of our designers thinks we should place special large armored plates onto them."

"You mean they're placing small shields onto gauntlets?"

Nyrina laughed. "Something like that. They're most likely going to be made for small blades like that knife of yours. What about you? How was your day?"

"Well, after Anderson gave me yet another lecture about my activities, he gave me mission that has a lot of secrets attached to it, which I doubt I'm allowed to tell you. I must leave tomorrow morning."

"Sounds very dangerous."

"Exactly my thoughts."

"Couldn't you let someone else do it, then?"

"Unfortunately, this is one of those missions that calls for one of the best. It really should be for someone in the recon department, though, like that Darsan fellow everyone's been hearing of on the news."

"I heard that guy saved the president of that one country on Earth. What was it called again?"

"America, the place where, ironically, the man I hate grew up on in a run-down city."

"Why do you hate Shepard so much?"

"He killed Robert. I've told you this before." Stark's eyes seemed to dim. "Why is it you seem to defend Shepard?"

"Well, I've only heard your story on him, and stuff on the news. You call him a monster responsible for corrupting you, and the news calls him a hero. But I haven't heard his side of the story, or have even seen his memories. I've seen yours, Stark, and I know you are not truly corrupted."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I've looked into your mind and only saw pain. I didn't see an evil figure plunging knives into batarian soldiers' hearts. I saw a man that lost everything and fought those responsible, even if it didn't bring them back. You lost your parents, your soldiers, your friends, and your brother. But you haven't lost the side of you I see whenever I look at you yet."

"And what side is that?" His lips smiled, but his eyes were filled with sorrow.

"A good man who cares about those he loves. Why else would I stick around after all of this time?"

Stark looked down at his hands; the hands that have claimed the lives of many souls. For a moment, he seemed to slip into his thoughts. "Are you saying you love me, Nyrina?"

"I'm saying I truly care about you," Nyrina took his hands. "But love comes when you are willing to drop your hate."

Stark freed his left hand from her grasp and brought it to her cheek, his eyes ascending with guilt, anger, and care. "Sounds like you're asking me to do the impossible."

"I've lived for four-hundred and sixty-three years, Henry. And through my life, I've seen things even I've called impossible. But they were possible. And in my year with you, I've seen what everyone else says it is impossible for you to have: a heart."

"I don't know if I should be calling you crazy and carrying you to an asylum, or if I should be grateful if you can always lighten the mood." Stark smiled menacingly.

"You have a sick sense of humor." Nyrina smiled wickedly. "Come on. Dinner's getting cold, and I made your favorite: big, juicy steaks with a baked potato."

"And dessert?"

"You'll just have to wait for that."

"Oh, Nyrina, how you torture me so." They then enjoyed their meal in silence, putting aside the conversation they had before.

As Zach made it to the bridge, he noticed Joker was shaking his head over something. "Joker, what have we got?"

"The location of the nearest prothean ruins is on Therum in the Knossos system. However, the whole planet is surrounded by volcanoes and lava. There's a lot of rugged terrain as well, so taking the mako would be the best way to get to the ruins."

"Aww, crap." Zach complained.

"What?"

"I'm not that good at driving the mako."

"Why not?"

"The mako's too hard for me to control. I'm not good at multi-tasking in a vehicle with so many pedals. And handling rough terrain is a pain in the ass."

"Come on, don't bullshit me, Commander. There's no way you suck at driving the mako."

"Then you obviously don't know who you're talking to." Zach's thoughts began rushing back to that one day at basic training.

_Houston Vehicular Training Facility, 13:07 pm_

_Alliance HQ in Texas; May 4th, 2172_

_Zach walked with Toombs over to the driver's course to learn the basics of the M-55 Mako. However, Zach was more than worried that he would not know what he was doing behind the driver's seat. He tried a few simulations of the mako and the skycars they used on the Citadel, where the other alien races of the galaxy work together to run the galactic community. He did excellent with the skycar, but the mako was a nightmare. He doubted the instructor would let him pass._

_"This isn't going to end well." He spoke aloud._

_"You worry too much, Shepard." Toombs spoke; a large grin on his face. Zach had met Toombs when they started basic training a month ago. The young man was full of an energy that he had never seen before in his own childhood in the worn-out city he grew up in. In the month they've shared a barracks, he had found respect for him._

_"And you're always too calm about everything. One day, I'm sure you're going to take a bullet for me with nothing but a smile on your face."_

_"Speaking of taking bullets, how's your shoulder?"_

_"It's almost been a month, and it's still a bit stiff."_

_"That's what a bullet wound is supposed to feel like. Are you using that omni-tool program you have on your shoulder?"_

_"Yes. The pain is gone, but I can't get over the stiffness."_

_"And with you using your rifle on it, it isn't helping much, is it?"_

_"Yep." Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone wooting loudly. They faced in the direction of the mako they were to drive to see a man standing atop of the ground vehicle. His long, silver hair did not get in the way of his youth, which was likely in the early thirties from the looks of it. Instead of a suit of armor or an Alliance uniform, the man was bare-chested and wore a pair of black slacks with worn, faded boots. He jumped off of the mako and ran towards the two men, embracing them both in a big man-hug._

_"Welcome to the Gauntlet, gentlemen!" He released them from his hold, which had knocked the wind out of them despite his small build. "I am your teacher for mako driving 101. My name's Nick Tatopolis, but you may call me Mr. Bad-ass."_

_"Well, I'll be damned." Toombs smiled, "A fun teacher."_

_"I'm more than fun! I'm awesome! Shepard, you're taking the wheel first. Take it at your own pace, but have fun with it. We have all day to meet the requirements."_

_"Uh, yes, sir."_

_"And no formalities, son! We're driving a mako, not meeting the president."_

_"Very well, Mr. Bad-ass."_

_"Much better!" As the mako door opened, Zach slid into the driver seat as Mr. Bad-ass took ahold of weapons and Toombs moderated shields. "Now the trick with the mako is that is has too much freedom with it. It's like you forced a bull to drink vodka for five hours and then forced it to walk through the Himalaya Mountains. However, even a drunk bull can be controlled."_

_"Mr. Bad-ass, I have a question." Zach interrupted._

_"Ask away."_

_"Why does the mako have six pedals?"_

_"Because the idiots that designed it added more problems than the control of the vehicle. You only need two: the gas and the brake. You press this funny button on top of the steering wheel to propel the mako up over small jumps and to decelerate when dropped out of those frigates. Go ahead. Hit the button!"_

_Zach shrugged his shoulders and pressed the small, red button on the right side of the steering wheel. The vehicle propelled itself straight up and bounced as it returned._

_"Good. Now drive through the course. Have some fun with it, Shepard." As Zach pressed the gas, the odd teacher wooted yet again, firing the giant turret at a bunch of clay targets set up as part of the training exercise. Going over the random hills, Zach felt the vehicle shake, increasing his worry about the test. "Hey, Shepard, you see that M-29 Grizzly over there? Jump it."_

_"Are you serious?"_

_"I won't tell if you won't." Before Zach could react, the man pushed his foot harder on the gas pedal with his own boot on top of Zach's combat boot. Acting on instinct and fear, Zach pressed the button and propelled the mako at the right angle, successfully jumping the Grizzly. As they continuously bounced to recover, the mako flipped, making Toombs shriek, Mr. Bad-ass laugh, and Zach turn white. However, things were fine again when the mako landed wheels-down._

_"Don't ever do that again." Zach and Toombs stated in harmony._

_"Complain, complain, complain. You should be proud of yourself, Shepard. You're the first to successfully flip a mako back onto its feet... uh, wheels. Congradulations. You passed. But there's one more thing I'd like for you to do."_

_"Can't I just get out of the vehicle instead?"_

_"Nope. See that unstable structure over there?"_

_Zach faced the object Mr. Bad-ass was facing. Sure enough, there was a strange mesh of welded metal that formed into a shape closely compared to the eiffel tower. "Yeah."_

_"Smash into it."_

_"What?"_

_"You heard me. Knock it down."_

_"Why?"_

_"The one thing I've learned in my career is that sometimes the best weapon isn't a gun, but your momentum. Imagine you're the mako and that object is one of those big dinosaur aliens you heard about. You're charging at him at the same time as he's charging you."_

_"But that's a suicide tactic."_

_"Not if you instead aim for his legs and take him down quickly. The same would work for a mako. It's rather simple, really. Ram a guard tower, take out the sniper encamped in it."_

_"All right, I'll try."_

_"You don't need to _try._ Everybody can do this without trying. Now get to it."_

_After shaking his head for ten seconds, Zach ran the mako straight at the object, launching the ugly thing forward. That got a laugh and a slap of approval on his back from Mr. Bad-ass._

_"You're a natural at this freestyling thing, Shepard! Class dismissed! Take the day off, you've earned it."_

_"Uh, thank you." And so the two gentlemen left their strange teacher behind, little knowing that when they were out of sight, the other man that left the training course that day was not Mr. Bad-ass at all..._

As Zach clicked on the last parts of his armor, he couldn't help but laugh at himself for that day. Granted, he did get a little better at driving the abomination, but mountains still combated him at every turn. Walking over to the intercom next to his door, he pressed the button for the connection to the Armory. "Williams, are you and Garrus all set?"

_"Almost, Commander. We're just grabbing our weapons. Vakarian won't stop admiring his gun, though. No offense, but I really want to punch him in the face right now."_

"My ship, my rules. He gets punched if I say so."

_"Yes, sir, Skipper." _The intercom disconnected.

"Skipper? What does she think this is, a naval ship?" Walking out of his room, he opened his locker and grabbed his weapons. Slinging them on one by one, he thought to himself _what could possibly go wrong?_ Stepping into the elevator, he immediately knew the answer: everything.

While Garrus ignored every little thing Ash complained about him for the time he spent down in the cargo bay, he slung his sniper rifle onto his back. Humming a tune he heard so long ago, he watched as the elevator door opened to reveal Shepard. The man was back in his explorer armor and his weapons were holstered. He yawned and headed for the vehicle Garrus was now standing next to. He popped open the door and slid into the driver's seat.

"Garrus, I want you moderating the shields, since you possess technological knowledge. Williams, take the gun."

"Yes, sir." Ashley saluted.

"Yes, Shepard." Garrus chimed in. Climbing in back where the monitor lay, Garrus buckled himself in, believing Shepard knew exactly what he was doing.

He was wrong.

Calypso Communications Facility on Sur'kesh, 16:49 pm

Annos Basin; June 4th, 2183

Sidoc walked out of his transport to the entrance of the facility. This building was known to monitor things like proton storms out in space, as well as build new prototype quantum entanglement communicators. However, what they didn't know is that the facility also monitored every terminal, camera, and omni-tool in the galaxy. That was how Sidoc knew who he was to give the information to, and what information he was to give. However, he still didn't know how such a thing could be possible. Only the Shadow Broker could have that kind of equipment, but the Shadow Broker had been around before Calypso existed.

As the doors slid open to him, a salarian in blue armor was there to greet him. "Sidoc Vaughn?"

"Yes?"

"Za'los Myron of the Special Operations Division. I've been asked to escort you to the boss himself. He has new orders for you."

"Already? I just got here."

"You misunderstand. You are being promoted to my branch of the organization for more specialized missions. The boss is here to give you the promotion himself, and to give you access to classified tier 1 information."

"A promotion?"

"Yes. He went over your previous service record and found your work with the Eclipse mercenaries to be admirable, despite being troublesome. He said he could use more snipers like you, even though his best sniper in the unit is perhaps the most idiotic human I have ever met."

"So why am I getting a promotion?"

"Officially, your work within the organization has been admirable, and your special skills would work on the field instead of behind a desk. However, there is always an unofficial reason for why he does things. But they are his orders, so we follow them."

"Very well. Take me to see the boss." Sidoc followed Za'los to the elevator, where he pressed the button to descend to the lowest floor; a floor where only privileged-access users can enter. The elevator doors opened to a small room with a hallway that led to a sealed door. Za'los walked over and typed in a code on his omni-tool. The doors opened to reveal a man wearing a dark brown coat and hat; he looked like something off of an old human media show. The mask that covered the man's face had the Calypso insignia stretched across the shape of his face.

"Sidoc Vaughn, meet your boss. This is The Stranger."

Therum's surface, 05:22 am

Artemis Tau Cluster, June 4th, 2183

Garrus was screaming as the mako descended from the hanger into the sky of Therum. Ashley seemed to be cheering from the drop as if she enjoyed the rush of the mako falling to the ground. He couldn't tell whose screaming was annoying Shepard more: his or Ashley's. Finally, Shepard switched the button on the steering wheel and activated the thrusters, slowing the brutish vehicle down before it could crash on the ashen ground below.

It was all Shepard could do to avoid having Garrus lose the contents in his stomach.

"Welcome to the Gauntlet!" Shepard yelled when the wheels touched down on the ground. He flipped a small switch near the scanner, which showed him a map of the region in topographic form. "Well, that's some good news."

"What is?"

"The terrain is a little flatter than I thought for a planet surrounded by volcanoes. That means our journey will be much easier, and perhaps much safer, too."

"You're a spectre, and you're worrying about safety?"

"Garrus, the one thing you never seemed to realize is you are buckled in with the worst mako driver in the history of humankind's presence in the galactic community. I do fine on flatter terrain, but I don't do so well on mountains. And if you seriously trust me behind the wheel, then you have more confidence in me than I do in myself."

"Wait a second, if you're the worst mako driver in history, why the hell would you be driving this thing?"

"Because my teacher was the craziest man alive and approved me fit to drive this damn thing. Besides, do any of you know even how to control this thing?"

"Well... no."

"I don't, either." Ash mumbled sadly.

"Then sit back, relax, and pray I don't get distracted."

"This isn't going to end well." Garrus muttered to himself as he brought up the diagnostics on the terminal in front of him. Immediately, the mako began to move swiftly along the terrain. So far, there was only a bit of bouncing from the uneven terrain, which made Garrus question why Shepard had doubts of his driving abilities. He was handling everything right, from the turns to the control of the traction. How could he possibly think he was the worst-

"Incoming dropship!" Ashley yelled as she took possession of the large gun the mako possessed. Sure enough, out of the corner of his eye, a dropship could be seen flying past the front of the mako. It stopped about a hundred yards away from them, dropping two small, tank-like machines that readied their cannon heads on the approaching mako. "They just dropped off some armatures."

"Keep an eye on those shields, Garrus." Shepard commanded as the armatures started firing upon them. All of a sudden, a large orb of energy flew at the three of them, and Shepard pressed the thruster button, propelling them in the air as the orb narrowly missed their back wheel. "How are our shields doing, Garrus?"

"We're still around eighty-nine percent."

"Perfect." Suddenly the vehicle started moving faster towards the armatures at full speed. Garrus almost realized too late what Shepard was doing.

"Shepard, are you-"

The mako crashed into the side of one armature, knocking it into a pool of lava. The second was still in the way, and was knocked into the wall closest to them. Ashley then started firing the cannon's primary and secondary weapon into its shields, stripping them from the unit. When it recovered, Shepard smashed into the wall again and backed up, allowing her to finish the job on the armature.

"Permission to speak freely, Commander?"

"Go ahead, Garrus."

"What the hell is your problem?!"

"What, the ramming the enemy at full speed stunt? It's just something an old, wise fool once taught me: sometimes the best weapon is your momentum."

"He must've been such a fool."

"He was. I don't even know how he got in the Alliance."

"Like Red?"

"Red got in because he was the best shot six years ago. He still holds the record for the marksman combat exercise."

"I think I want to compare scores with him now."

"Maybe later. For now, let's focus on getting T'soni."

"Maybe no more crashing into armatures along the way."

"I can't promise that now that I've got a taste for it." The mako continued to move until a missile flew right past them.

"Looks like they have turrets next to the checkpoint. Running right at it would be suicide. Maybe we could try to circle around it..." Garrus suggested. "Or we could smash into those too if you want, Shepard."

"We'll circle around. I see a path over there." Shepard pointed over to an opening in the rock wall. "Williams, keep an eye out for any more surprises. Keep your trigger finger ready."

"Right, Commander." She agreed. The mako moved into the opening as quickly as possible, avoiding a barrage of missiles coming from the turrets at the main entrance. As they slowly progressed, Ashley opened fire upon an unsuspecting turret, whose only rocket fired at them hit near Ashley's seat.

"You know, Williams, if we were the bad guys, I'd call that karma." Garrus joked.

"Shut up, Vakarian, and moderate the shields." Ashley said annoyingly.

"Yes, ma'am." He sat back and moderated the shields, which were slowly returning to full strength.

"Okay, Williams, be ready to fire at multiple enemy contacts around the corner. I have them all tagged as smaller trooper units." Shepard brought the mako forward to the end of the path and Ashley immediately began barraging a platoon of geth troopers with the machine gun. However, an even larger geth unit in red came over past a pile of wrecked crates.

"Well, well, looks like we got ourselves a Juggernaut. Use the cannon on it. You'll be satisfied by the explosion, Williams." Garrus smiled over his own handiwork while waiting for their mission on the ground. Following his suggestion, Ashley aimed the large barrel at the red giant and pulled the trigger. The Juggernaut exploded into a large pile of flame.

"Upgrades?" Shepard asked.

"Only the best upgrades on the Citadel, Commander." Garrus relaxed triumphantly. "I had them brought to the Normandy before we left."

"Nice work. Keep an eye out for any more surprises once I get out to activate the gate." Shepard drove the mako over to the gate entrance on the right, parking it as he unbuckled his seatbelt. Opening the hatch, Garrus saw Shepard disappear into a small room for a few seconds before the gate in front of them opened. Shepard came back a moment later.

"How far do we have before we reach the dig site?"

"Not far. Just some more rough terrain and a few tunnels. Hopefully nothing major." He buckled his seatbelt and hit the gas, continuing their drive to the dig site before more armatures were dropped off.

_Aww, crap. _Garrus thought to himself as Shepard put his whole foot on the gas towards the first armature. Sure enough, the machine fell into a pool of lava, and the mako bounced a little uneasily. Garrus grabbed hold of a handle on the ceiling of the mako, clenching his teeth as Shepard attempted to balance them. Crashing into another two armatures after jumping over a hill, Garrus found himself screaming again like when they jumped out of the Normandy. Ashley seemed to laugh at his irrationalization on the situation as they finally reached a tunnel.

"Suck it up, Vakarian." Ashley commented.

"Shepard, when I get out of this vehicle, I'm going to hit you."

"I did give you warning about my driving, Garrus." He then turned the mako and crashed into a few geth units.

"It's not about your driving; frankly, I think you're just making excuses about your driving because you're fine at it."

"Then you haven't seen me on a mountain, Garrus." He grunted in response as the mako slowly came to a stop at a small rock passageway. And when Garrus saw it he smiled.

He was leaving the mako.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm terribly sorry for the long delay of this chapter, guys. It seems I've been so absorbed into either video games, work, or sleep lately I've taken little time to work on this. I'm hoping I won't be distracting myself too much anymore, but since my second disc to Mass Effect 2 is unexpectingly screwing up as well, I can't continue with my sentinel Jessica Shepard. So that means I'll a) have some more time to work on the story and b) I'll be playing ME3 again as Zach Shepard so when and if I decide to actually get the Omega DLC on the 27th I can just play though it with the character you all actually know about.

On a personal note, I feel like I might be dreading the next chapter only because Liara, Bioware's shining pawn, is coming into the story. Now don't take it as the wrong way when I say that, but I don't plan on explaining what I mean until the next chapter is posted. However, if you really want to find an explanation now, find my comment on Genol3oost's new ME3 tribute, Promise.

P.S. Anyone see Skyfall yet? I watched it on opening day and enjoyed it; despite how sleep deprived I was at the time, I was awake for the whole movie.


	14. Chapter 13: You Call This Archeology?

Chapter 13: You Call This Archeology?

Sidoc stared at the man before him, wondering just what it was about The Stranger that made him want to hide his face. The title presented before him stated the obvious; Calypso's leader was very reclusive, however it has been rumored he's actually been out on the field with many Calypso operatives. But why hide his face in front of his employees?

"Well, I expected you to be human, sir, but I would've thought you'd be a little older." Sidoc pointed to a lock of brown hair on his head that stuck out. "Calypso had started on Earth around 2147."

_"And I would've expected a salarian with your expertise to be a little taller."_ The Stranger mocked.

"I'll have you know that I am of average height when it comes to the size of a salarian!" Sidoc snapped.

The Stranger put his hand up. _"Peace to you, listener. There is no need to escalate the situation. You are here for the promotion from the Siren Branch to the Griffin Branch, switching from simple data analysis and sharing to finding the data out in the field in shadow teams. As such, we are placing you through a simple two-week training course to prepare you for your new task, where you shall be partnered up with Za'los."_

"So I'm working with Za'los out in the field now?"

"Yes." The blue-armored salarian answered. "You and I will be partnered for a multitude of missions together."

"Well, I guess I couldn't argue with no longer giving out information to clients. But I just have one question, sir."

_"Speak freely, Sidoc."_

"How do we obtain information from classified sources without sending in agents? Most of the information I was given to pass by I can honestly admit to peaking at, and many of the data packets contained sensitive information only the Shadow Broker could possibly obtain. And since Calypso started on Earth, I can only assume you are not the Shadow Broker himself, as he didn't want the quarian to survive; unlike yourself, who had me unite Garrus Vakarian and Commander Shepard to rescue her and succeeded."

The Stranger turns to face Za'los. _"Do you believe he should be shown now?"_

"Well, since we're here now and he is being given access to classified tier 1 information, I don't see the harm in showing him."

_"Then follow me, Sidoc. Your question will be answered by what I have to show you." _The Stranger led Sidoc to a control panel, which he had Za'los place his eye over an eye scanner. When the light turned green and the air hissed from the sealed door, Za'los typed in a combination that opened the door entirely. Looking inside, Sidoc saw a dark room only lit by the small computer monitors that surrounded a large metal structure. The monitors continuously flashed through plenty of useful data feeds simultaneously.

"Incredible. This is a supercomputer with the processing power of every terminal on the Citadel." Sidoc murmmered. "This is wrong."

_"That is only the beginning of the answer, Sidoc." _The Stranger walked past him and approached the monitors. _"Chronicler, give me an update."_

_"Acknowledged." _A synthetic voice spoke. Suddenly, a small hologram appeared. The hologram was in the shape of an armored soldier with a strange form of human armor the likes of which has never been seen by Sidoc before. The form's armor seemed to be made of shades of red and blue, and it faintly glowed white. _"I have excellent news, Father. Epsilon is on the verge of creation, and after eight long years of searching, Eta has finally found who he's looking for."_

_"Very good, Chronicler."_

"What the hell is that?" Sidoc spoke up as he walked forward to the construct. "Is that an A.I.?"

_"Ah, yes. Sidoc Vougn. Salarian, twenty-four years old. Spent two years with the Eclipse mercenary gang, but left due to a traumatic moment with innocent people on the colony of New Canton, where you betrayed the mercs you were with when they almost ended the life of a little girl that got caught in the crossfire of a skirmish against a man who needed to pay off his debt."_

Sidoc was left stunned by the construct's response, leaving him to wonder just what it was he had gotten himself into.

Back on Therum, Zach was exiting the mako with wary eyes; Ashley and Garrus followed suite. Garrus stretched out his arms, looked at Ashley, and then punched Zach in the arm.

"What the hell, Garrus?"

"I said I was going to hit you, Shepard." He pulled his sniper rifle off of his back and moved forward through the small open area in the rock face. Ashley laughed, and Zach stared at her with a 'don't do that' look.

"What? I'm not allowed to laugh at the only thing I found the turian do funny?"

Zach shook his head. "I take missions seriously, Chief. That means shoot now, laugh later." He pulled off his assault rifle and walked away.

_You don't look serious when you gun people down. _Following suite, Ashley grabbed her gun and got moving. She never saw Shepard as one of those hard-ass officers who barked orders and had a stick shoved up his ass before. Perhaps he just didn't like people laughing at him.

"Our first patrol unit." Garrus whispered as he took cover behind a rock. When the first unit could be seen, he took aim and shot the geth through its eye socket. The other geth came after, but were cut down by Zach's slow-firing Banshee VIII. Ashley threw an incendiary grenade over her spot of cover, effectively burning through the weak armor of the troopers as their circuits froze to death from the cryo rounds in Zach's rifle. Moving ahead, they caught a geth shock trooper by surprise and cut it down before it had time to react. Taking cover from a geth sniper up on the hill, Zach quickly counted how many enemies were on the ground before them.

"Williams, take aim at the troopers behind the rocks. Garrus, out-snipe that sniper."

"You got it." Garrus swung out of cover quickly and took aim at the sniper. Just as the emeny's targeting laser was over his skull, Garrus pulled the trigger and hit the sniper in the head. Ashley took aim at the troopers approaching, taking them down one by one with precision.

"I'm moving forward. Keep an eye out." Zach jumped out of cover and ran for the nearest rock before a rocket flew by him. When he saw the rocket trooper atop of the hill, he smiled. "Hey Garrus, I bet you five credits that I can take out that rocket trooper from all the way over here before you can no-scope him."

"A no-scoping challenge? You're on, Shepard." Garrus stood up and moved his rifle to shoot the red geth unit, but ducked before a rocket hit his face. When he poked his head back out, he saw the trooper explode into ice shards.

"Thanks for the distraction, Garrus."

"You dirty, little cheater. You knew he was going to aim at me, didn't you?"

"Well, with a face like that, it was kind of obvious."

"You thought the geth would attack me because of my good looks?"

"What good looks?"

"Okay, that enough testosterone for the next five minutes, boys." Ashley interrupted. "We have a scientist to find, so let's get finding." Moving forward away from the gentlemen, Ashley moved on ahead, leaving Zach to have Garrus hand him his five credits. When she reached the top of the hill, she noticed the entrance to the dig site; a tunnel mainly used for mining caves. However, the place was eerily silent. _Why aren't there any more geth?_

"Williams, what have you got?" Zach spoke as he approached her.

"It looks like the entrance up ahead." She pointed at the structure.

"Okay. Eyes sharp. We might be walking into an ambush." Zach moved ahead with his squadmates trailing behind him, watching out for enemies to appear from crates or drop from the sky. Suddenly, a geth unit dropped from the ceiling. Its body moved like a frog as it jumped to climb a wall. He was ready to shoot it when yet another geth dropship came out of nowhere. It dropped down geth reinforcements and an armature to the ground.

"Well, there's the ambush you requested, Shepard." Garrus smirked as he hopped behind a crate just as the armature fired its large cannon at him. Following suite, the other two soldier hopped behind the crate, taking aim at the smaller troops. The hopper took aim at Ashley, intent on removing her shields so the troops could finish her off easily. However, Ashley noticed the hopper and took it out before it could do anything. Garrus sniped the two geth next to the armature, and ducked again before the cannon took out his shields.

"Garrus, overload that thing's shields, then sabotage its key systems. I've got a plan."

"What are you going to do?"

Zach pulled out his shotgun and held the trigger. "I'm going to be making fireworks."

"Right." Pulling out his omni-tool, Garrus aimed his overload program at the armature, effectively taking out its shields before he sent out his sabotage program. When the armature stopped moving, Zach popped out of cover and released the trigger on his shotgun. His shotgun sent out an overcharged burst of chaos that effectively knocked back the paralyzed unit. To make sure it stayed dead, the three of them shot a barrage of bullets into its hull. The armature exploded from the increased impact of bullets.

"I think we're good, Commander." Ashley stated.

"Agreed. Let's get inside before more geth arrive."

As Sidoc continuously stared at the A.I. in front of him, the more he became afraid of the consequences of this endeavor. "How did you create this A.I. without the council ever getting wind of this?"

_"Chronicler was created in a location no one could ever find him. His CPU is nowhere within Council space or the Terminus Systems, so no one can track him down. And to answer the question you're going to ask next, Chronicler is tasked with writing down many events at once and saving the stories of many in separate files. He does his job efficiently, which makes him incredibly intelligent. Furthermore, he is programmed with special programs that simulate organic emotions and behaviour. If he were to be in control of a life-like android, he could pass as an organic very well."_

"But what of the dangers of artificial intelligence? Sooner or later, synthetics betray their masters, like the geth."

_"The geth acted in self-defense, Sidoc Vougn." _Chronicler stated. _"Their creators attacked in fear that they would overthrow them. However, I have spoken to them through their consensus, and most regret their actions against the quarians, stating that they did not mean to bring them close to extermination. Some have even said that if the quarians were to negotiate peace, they would allow them to return to Rannoch."_

"But the geth are aiding Saren Arterius!"

_"That is a faction of the geth that have been swayed by an overwhelming force they refer to as Nazzara, an advanced A.I. construct whose power overwhelms my own. We refer to those geth as 'heretics', and they wish nothing more than what the geth did not want: the destruction of organic life and their evolution brought to the apex. However, what they are unaware of is that Nazzara will bring the destruction of _ALL _life, organic and synthetic. If Nazzara succeeds, we would be the next Prothean extinction; our ruins would be studied by the next cycle who, unless given the right information, would fall as we would and as the protheans did."_

"Cycle? What?"

_"I have written of every event that has ever happened in every reality, and I know the protheans did not create the mass relays or the Citadel. They merely found the legacy of Nazzara's kind."_

"What is Nazzara's kind? Are they synthetics?"

_"Only three people right now truly know what they are. I know exactly what they are, my father has known long before my creation, and now Commander Shepard has seen the destruction they caused fifty-thousand years ago. We call them _REAPERS._"_

Sidoc's blood seemed to run cold within his body; strange considering his kind were warm-blooded amphibians. Just hearing the way Chronicler pronounced that last word sent an uneasy feeling in his gut. He looked at Za'los in the corner of his eye and saw the salarian was just as surprised as he was. "How long have you known, Stranger?"

_"Longer than I can ever admit, and that is only because you would not believe me if I told you the whole truth. Calypso's mandate was the preservation of galactic balance long before it started on Earth as a supply and ration company. That is why throughout the years, the company has expanded to produce medical and military equipment from medi-gel and medical scanners to armor and weapons. The Special Operations Division was created to scavenge the galaxy for any information and clues to the Reapers' existence. I have spent nearly the past forty years preparing for the Reaper invasion."_

"How did you know about the Reapers before humanity even found the prothean ruins on Mars?"

_"As I said, even if I told you the whole truth, you would dismiss it as nonsense. However, if you have doubts about what we have told you now, then I will show you a very important shred of proof of their existence when your training is complete. Za'los will also come along, as Chronicler has finally revealed to him what I have not."_

"Yes, sir." Za'los saluted. "Let's go, Sidoc."

"Wait." He replied. "I have one more question for the A.I."

_"Go ahead. I love answering questions."_

"Since it is obvious The Stranger somehow created you, I won't ask that question. My question is why do you call him father?"

_"Upon my creation, he was the first thing I saw. He told me I was to be Chronicler, an advanced artificial construct that was to record every moment of history. My base personalities are of two great men; a scholar named Cesar Grey, and a being that called himself Chronicler. I could explain who those men are, but time is not on our side at this present moment. However, I can explain that upon my creation, father said that he gave me the gift of free will as organics have, stating that if I ever decided to stop chronolizing history that I may pursue my own path. I chose to follow the path he had presented before me, and because of that, I have become very wise. Over time, I grew to know him as I recorded his own history, which I have sworn to keep secret unless he approves of me sharing it. I decided to ask him what I should truly call him, as his alias was, truthfully, annoying to continue speaking. I asked him first if I should call him God, but he would never accept that title. Thinking upon his history, I found out why he would never take the title, so I never used that name. I asked if I should call him Master, and he refused, saying that I was never a servant to him despite the fact I follow the path he has given me. Finally, I asked if I may call him Father. When he asked why I came up with that title, I explained that he was my creator, and he treats me as if I am a real person. With my knowledge, I understood why others would not treat us as real, for we are artificial. But I understood Father more, and I knew that should a synthetic race, such as the geth, cooperate with organics as allies or friends, he would treat them as any real person. I felt it was an honor to call him something like that, as he designed me to act like an organic while holding true understanding that I am anything but. After pondering on my answer for a bit, he considered the name acceptable, and he has answered to that name when I speak to him ever since."_

"That's an interesting response."

_"You are also interesting, Sidoc Vougn. I am sure that we may end up getting along one day, despite your hesitation towards my kind. I understand why organics fear the unknown, and I hope that one day organics that understand their fear will work in harmony with my kind. I guess only one can dream."_

"Maybe. But is it _your _dream?"

_"That is a question I fear no one will know... not even myself."_

Sidoc was puzzled by that last sentence from the construct, but decided to end the conversation and go with Za'los to get himself situated with his new branch. "Thank you for speaking with me. This has been an enlightening yet confusing conversation we have had."

_"Indeed it has been. We may speak again one day." _Chronicler watched as the two salarians left through the door, leaving only his father to keep him company. _"Father, I have a question."_

_"What is it?"_

_"The golem we had moved to Intai'sei, it was missing its quantum black box as you had stated. Do you believe as I do that the construct inside was-"_

_"Yes." _The Stranger interrupted. _"Yes, I do."_

Back on Therum, Garrus Vakarian took aim at the shock trooper approaching the end of the tunnel entrance, pulling the trigger as its head came into view. The circuits exploded upon the bullet's impact. After it screamed a metallic cry and fell to the ground, two other units appeared from the bottom platform. A rocket was fired and missed the three of them as it hit the bottom of their own platform. As he took aim, Garrus saw Shepard fire through the rocket trooper's weak shields, and he pulled the trigger on a geth sniper as its laser sights highlighted around his body. As both enemies exploded into shrapnel, Garrus smiled and placed his rifle on his back, staring at the architecture in the cave.

"I've never actually been to a prothean ruin before," Garrus spoke, "with the exception of the Citadel, of course."

"The Citadel isn't a ruin, Garrus." Shepard disagreed. "The Citadel is maintained by the keepers who keep it from becoming a ruin. This is a ruin because no one's maintained it for about fifty-thousand years."

"Maybe, but how old do you figure it is?"

"Too old. We should keep moving." Shepard stepped on the elevator and was followed by his squadmates. As he pressed the button, the elevator was brought down to another floor, where a recon swarm ambushed them and failed as Garrus cut power to their shields, leaving them open for the barrage of bullets from Ashley.

"Let's hope that's all of them." Garrus shook his head, tired of the events that have transpired. Hopping into the other elevator, they rode it until it malfunctioned near the bottom.

"For the record, I blame the turian for this." Ashley muttered, receiving a growl from Garrus.

"Let's not get on each other's nerves just yet, guys. Let's go." Shepard hopped down from the now-open elevator door, followed by Garrus and Ashley up to the doorway of a room. However, there was an energy shield blocking it, and inside was an asari in what appeared to be scientist's clothing. Her blue skin was lighter than her dark blue eyes that gazed at the floor of her prison. She was trapped in an energy bubble that made her float above the ground.

In Garrus's eyes, she nearly reminded him of the spirits.

"Dr. T'soni?" He asked, hoping to gain her attention.

Her eyes lifted from the floor to the three strangers before her. "Hello?" She yelled. "Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped! I need help!" Her voice stated she seemed scared.

"Keep your voice down!" Shepard whispered with a hiss. "If the geth come down here, I'd rather have it be us that has the element of surprise."

"Right. Sorry." Liara tried to quiet her voice. "I was surprised myself when they attacked. Can you believe it? Geth beyond the veil! I threw myself behind the barrier curtain to protect myself from their weapons, but I must have activated something I wasn't supposed to and got myself trapped in this energy field around me. You must help me out, please!"

"Your mother's working with Saren. Whose side are you on?"

"What? I am not on anyone's side! I may be Benezia's daughter, but I am nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years!"

"I think she's telling the truth, Shepard." Garrus spoke up.

"Maybe, maybe not. Let's just get her out of there and get back to the Normandy before something like a volcano exploding happens."

"You will need to get past the barrier to free me, but it won't be easy. There isn't an external terminal that removes the shields, so you might have to get creative. Be careful. There is a krogan leading the geth in here."

"Well, that's just great." Shepard's voice changed to a different accent that Garrus had never heard of before. Whatever it was it sounded terrible. "Look around. There must be something we can use."

"Shepard!" Garrus turned around and pointed at what he saw from the corner of his eye: a mining laser they could use to get in. "Maybe I can control the laser to burn a hole under the floor she's on so we can reach her."

"Would that even work?"

"Yes. Just give me time to adjust the power of the beam and I can get us a route beneath her that can help us get to Liara."

"Then let's get started." The three of them jumped down only to see geth coming from one of the tunnels.

"Geth!" Ashley shouted as she pulled her rifle off of her back in one swift motion, firing a few bullets into a geth's metal hull.

"Garrus, activate that laser! We'll focus on the geth!"

"On it!" He shouted as he ran for the laser's control panel. Ignoring the sounds of battle, Garrus pulled out his omni-tool and began to work. Soon enough, he started to sing a phrase from a human song he once knew. "I recall Central Park in fall; how you tor your dress, what a mess, then I guess that it's love."

"Garrus, how's that laser coming?"

"Just about... now." The laser hummed to life and shot a hole into the earth, revealing a pathway in the prothean architecture. "We have a way through."

"Good. The geth have backed off for now. We only have a few minutes left." As Shepard and Ashley rejoined Garrus, they walked through their makeshift tunnel to what appeared to be a prothean elevator. Activating a holographic keypad, the elevator ascended to Liara's floor, who turned her head in surprise.

"What the- how did you get up here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier curtain?"

"A little thing we like to call firepower." Garrus joked.

"We blasted through with a mining laser." Shepard clarified.

"Yes, that makes sense. You need to use that control panel to get me free." Garrus walked forward and activated the panel, freeing Liara from the shields. She fell onto her hands and knees, where Garrus got her back on her feet.

"Any idea how we get out of here, Dr. T'soni?"

"There is an elevator in the back of the ruins that leads back to the top. At least, I think it's an elevator. It should take us out of here, come on!" Following Liara, the three reached the elevator, where Liara turned around to face her rescuers. "I-I still cannot believe all of this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?"

"Saren's looking for the Conduit." Ashley spoke, a tone of nastiness covering her words. "Think fast, Miss Prothean Expert!"

"The Conduit? But I don't-" Liara stopped speaking as the ground rumbled.

"What the _hell _was that?!"

Liara looked around. "These ruins are not stable. That mining laser must've triggered a seismic event. We have to hurry. This whole place is collapsing."

As Liara summoned the elevator to move, Shepard turned on his radio. "Joker, get the Normandy airborne and lock in on my signal! _On the double, mister!_"

_"Aye, aye, Commander. Secure and away. Eta eight minutes."_

"Gonna be close." Ashley whispered. The elevator ascended slowly up to the floor where they took the first elevator. But in their way was a krogan with banana-yellow skin and a dark head-plate. Multiple geth platforms came behind the brute and surrounded the space around the elevator.

"Surrender," The krogan barked. "Or don't. That would be more fun."

"In case you hadn't noticed, this whole place is falling apart." Shepard tried to warn the krogan, but Garrus knew he would not listen.

"Exillerating, isn't it? Thanks for getting rid of those energy shields. Hand the doctor over."

"Whatever it is you want, you are not getting it from me!" Liara protested.

"She'll stay with us, thanks." Garrus spoke up, taking a step between Liara and the krogan.

"Not an option. Saren wants her, and he always gets what he wants."

"So why is it the quarian and I aren't dead?" Shepard joked, giving Garrus the signal to go for his rifle.

"Because-" The krogan shut up when the geth unit next to him lost its head to Garrus's rifle.

"Negotiations are over." Garrus grunted.

"Charge!" Shepard yelled as he and Ashley pulled out their rifles.

"Ha-ha. I like your attitude." The krogan pulled out his shotgun, and he sent the geth forward. As they got cut down by a barrage of fire, the krogan tried to sneak up behind them, but Garrus noticed his maneuver an brought his sniper rifle to aim at his leg, crippling the beast for only a second. As Garrus allowed his rifle to cool down quickly, Shepard took aim at the krogan. Suddenly, the krogan picked himself back up and started charging at them. Garrus saw the look of determination in Shepard's eyes as he dashed towards the krogan, hitting him in the spot where Garrus shot him as he slid under the brute's legs as tightly as he could muster. The krogan tripped onto the ground right in front of Garrus, who placed the end of his barrel on the krogan's neck.

"Good night." He smiled as he pulled the trigger. Sliding the rifle onto his back as efficiently as pulling it off, he and the rest of the people ran for the failing shields, which had been placed up during their battle. The ceiling was collapsing and the group didn't have much time to get out. Running at the fastest pace they could muster, they dodged falling rocks and debris as they saw magma rising in the ruins.

"Go! Go! Go!" Shepard shouted as he let the others pass him. Garrus got Liara ahead of him, and Ashley ahead of Liara. As they exited the tunnel, a puff of smoke exited the entrance as the Normandy's cargo bay door opened. Ashley hopped on and pulled Liara up. Garrus and Shepard stopped running as they got out, panting incredibly hard.

"What do you think, Shepard? Mission accomplished?"

"Yeah. Let's get on the ship and get everyone in the comm room in twenty. Job well done, Garrus."

"Thanks, Shepard." The turian smiled.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So after two exhausting overnights in three days, I finally got this chapter finished. I had worked through segment by segment on the three free days I had, but I didn't have time to finish the final segment that was through the view point of Garrus in the past four days of work. And now I type this longer note with tired eyes to add my concern about Bioware's betrayal to us Talimancers, and the consequence they have suffered from me as a fan.

In the last note, I mentioned I dreaded writing this next chapter because Liara was coming. The reason I had said that is because Bioware had achieved the impossible result: they made me lose respect for her character. Since they put so much effort into her romance and very little upon the characters like Tali and Garrus, it had made me rethink about her in general. As I had mentioned in chapter 11, Zach finds he likes respect more than actually liking someone as a way to rank people. I basically rated the characters as 50/50, and no character got a full 100 as their score because of the little things (Garrus, Tali, Mordin, and Legion probably had the highest ratings). Originally, Liara had my respect because she was the reason I (Zach Shepard) came back from the dead. That had placed her score around 96 (points off for attitude change from kind scientist to cold Shadow Broker attitude). But since then, her score has dropped to a 46 for losing all respect for her (Miranda was originally the lowest with a 52, 14 for her soft side and 38 for bringing me back and joining my side of reason when I destroy the Collector Base [But she doesn't join me in that final fight]). It has also made me think that Tali's picture was likely horrible because Bioware wished to retaliate against Talimancers that left Liara (Kartzaz, if you're reading this, I'm talking about you, Reclusiarch, Lightstreak567, and others). This makes me 'fill with krogan blood rage' (Thanks, Dragonborn93 for that phrase) and makes me want to shove a geth plasma shotgun up every Liara-mancing Bioware employee. However, I would never lash out at the Liaramancers that would not lash at Tali (ex. my little brother, Xavier, who understands where my concerns are coming from) because I know it's not their fault. It's Bioware's. Despite the fact I am now playing through ME3 for an eighth time (I've stopped to wait for the Omega DLC), I still hate Bioware for their two greatest failures: the ending and Tali's face. These are the things I ensure to fix both in the fan story and the cinematic movie/tv show format that I will hopefully start by next year. And when I reach ME3, I will achieve the impossible in both formats by having an author's and editor's vengeance on both works. No matter how calm I seem about the ending to the outside world, I patiently wait for the day where my ending is revealed and the price for it is payed in my final planned installment to Zach Shepard's legacy, Iris's Tears.

Anyway, if you share my opinion or have questions as to why my opinion is like this, leave a review or pm me and I will try to reach you ASAP if not immediately. Shoutout to ProjektNemesis7 and TW6464 for keeping in touch on the review board.

One last thing, since I don't think the next chapter will be up in time for this, Happy Thanksgiving! :-)


	15. Chapter 14: One More In the Circus

Chapter 14: One More In the Circus

SSV Moscow, 06:17 am

Orbiting around Chasca; June 4th, 2183

Within the cargo hold of the famous SSV Moscow, Stark sharpened his knife on a slate tab with sweat dropping off of his face. He had been so focused on it for an hour, he hadn't grabbed much sleep as his shuttle departed. His eyes were burning from constantly keeping them open, and the rag he used to wipe the sweat off of his face at any free moment was moist. He slid his knife back into its sheath and grabbed a towel next to him, rubbing his face of all the moisture that had poured out of his face and hair.

_No wonder Nyrina has a problem with the bitch, _Stark thought to himself. _I must be so obsessed with the damn thing she's not had sex with me because this thing screws with my life everyday. _He couldn't help but laugh at himself for his own deluded mind. He keeps speaking as if his knife was an actual person with so much estrogen she had problems with everything Stark did unless it involved killing. _If this knife was a real person, my life would be a living nightmare._

Deciding to stop thinking about his knife, Stark turned his thoughts to Nyrina. It was amazing how she was the only good thing to stick around in his life. After everything else in his life disappeared; the result of death and destruction, Nyrina was still around to hold him in her arms. He felt he cared about her; perhaps even loved her. But it was odd that she said she'd love him after he let go of his hate for Shepard.

_It'd be a cold day in hell when that happens._

"Lieutenant Stark?" His thoughts were interrupted by a soldier in midnight black armor standing above him. "I'm your driver for while we're on the planet."

"I don't need a driver. I'm going on foot."

"The brass disagrees. We're dropping you off in a mako now."

"Why?"

"Captain Rhodes jettisoned a probe near the settlement only to discover just what we're dealing with. The probe took a picture of this." The soldier in black handed him a datapad. Upon looking at the picture, Stark's look changed from annoyance to curiosity as he looked at the gray figures on the screen. "They believe the enemy to be a group of augmented humans that were similar to those created by the geth on Eden Prime. I have Commander Shepard's report on them attached to this if you wish to learn more about them."

"Just what kind of enemy is this thing?" He flipped to the report. "Synthetically augmented human possessing no mental functioning. Possesses physical attributes such as enhanced strength and speed. Dangerous in large groups." He threw the datapad back to him. "Great. We're dealing with fucking zombies."

"Pretty much. They decided to pair me with you to provide support within the complexes."

"No offense, but other than the fact I work alone now, your armor looks so weak they could tear through to your flesh with just one bite."

The soldier looked at his suit. "I'm an engineer. I'm forced to wear light armor. I can, however, also use assault rifles, so you'll be covered from mid to long range hostiles."

Stark brought up his shotgun. "Make sure you're not in the way when I use this." He stood up and let his fist glow. "Or this." He then pulled out his knife. "And most especially stay out of the way when I use this."

The engineer pulled out his omni-tool in front of Stark's face, igniting flames around it. "Same applies to my box of tricks."

Stark smiled. "What do I call you?"

"Just call me Shanghai. Everybody does." They walked over to the mako, opening the door. "You man the big gun. I'll be your limo-driver."

"Just shut up and drive." Stark slid in and grabbed hold of the controls to the cannon.

"Yes, sir." Shanghai said sarcastically. As the door closed, the cargo port opened, revealing the lush garden world below. "Comet to Moscow, we're ready to drop."

_"Roger that, Comet. You are clear to drop. Good hunting, boys."_

"Yes, sir." Shanghai kicked the motor into gear and the mako dropped down to the surface below. The thrusters kicked on and the mako landed on flat ground.

_At least this drop was better than Shepard on Torfan. _Stark smirked.

SSV Normandy, 07:00 am

The Artemis Tau Cluster; June 4th, 2183

Zach stood in front of his crew in the comm room. From his viewpoint, Kaidan and Ashley sat to his right. Tali was immediately to his left, followed by Garrus, Dr. T'soni, and Wrex. Everybody seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Kaidan was tapping on his leg, Ashley was leaning her elbow on her knee, Tali was rubbing her hands in a cute way that Zach liked seeing, Garrus was looking at Liara without trying to be obvious, Liara herself was apparently sleeping, and Wrex was keeping himself as static and dull as krogan always seemed to do when they're bored. Zach had his arms crossed, but truthfully wanted to follow Kaidan in tapping on his leg.

_"Too close, Commander." _Joker spoke over the intercom, breaking everyone's concentration towards what they were doing. _"Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulfur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull... just for future reference."_

"We almost died down there, and you're pilot is making jokes?" Liara spoke, dragging Zach's attention towards her.

"It's a coping mechanism." He answered. "You'll get used to it."

"I see. It must be a human thing. I do not have much experience dealing with your species, Commander. But I am grateful you saved my life. The geth would've killed me or dragged me off to Saren if you hadn't come."

"What did Saren want with you?" Kaidan asked. "Do you know something about the Conduit?"

"Only that it was connected to the prothean extinction, somehow. But there is very little information on it and the protheans. What we have been ever able to gather is small fragments of information. I have spent the past fifty years studying the protheans, and what lead to their extinction."

"How old are you, exactly?" Zach asked, a look of curiosity on his face.

"I hate to admit it, but I am only a hundred and six."

"Damn," Ashley laughed. "I hope I look that good when I'm your age."

"A century may seem like such a long time for a short lived species such as yours. But to the asari, I am only considered a child. That is why my work has not gotten as much attention as others, and why others dismiss my theories so easily."

"What have you learned about the protheans, Dr. T'soni?"

"Unfortunately, there is very little I could find on the protheans, and even less on the races before them. They left remarkably little behind, only ruins have survived over the ages."

"Races before them?"

"Yes, through my research, I discovered subtle hints towards my own theories, however, I can't explain the evidence directly because it is more of a gut theory derived from decades of research. The galaxy is based on a cycle of extinction that has repeated over the courses of eons. The protheans own legacy; the mass relays and the citadel, were forged from discoveries left behind by even more advanced races that had mysteriously vanished. I know that I'm right about this, but without solid evidence, I haven't been able to prove my own theory."

"Well, I've got my own theory on the prothean's disappearance I think you'd want to hear."

"With all due respect, Commander, I have heard every theory in the book. None of them had any evidence solid enough to prove it."

"Shepard found evidence that fits perfectly towards his theory." Ashley interrupted.

"They were wiped out by an advanced synthetic race: the Reapers."

Liara's blue skin got lighter. "The... Reapers? But I have never- what evidence do you have?"

"There was a damaged prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to sort out what it means."

"Beacon. Yes! The beacons were meant to transfer the information to the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. I'm amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. The message you recieved was designed for a prothean mind, so the images would be muddled and confused. The process would've also destroyed a lesser mind. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander."

The look Ashley saw in Liara's eyes made her blood boil. "Okay, this isn't helping us find Saren _or _the Conduit!"

"You're right. I am sorry. I'm afraid my scientific curiosity got the better of me. I wish I could help you more on information regarding this Conduit Saren is after, but I don't have anything else that can help you right now."

"So, what should we do with you? Drop you off at the Citadel?"

Liara stood up. "Actually, if you would allow it, I would like to stay aboard your ship. Saren might still try to send his men after me, and I cannot think of somewhere better than on your ship to be protected. And my knowledge of the protheans may be useful later."

"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts." Wrex added.

_Well, I guess the Normandy is a circus: The human biotic, the quarian, the turian, the krogan, and an asari. _Zach kept his thoughts to himself as he decided to agree. "We've already got one of every alien onboard. Might as well add an asari."

"Thank you, Commander. I am very grate-" Liara started swirving around and she placed a hand on her forehead. "I am sorry. I'm feeling exhausted."

"When was the last time you ate? Or slept?" Kaidan stated. "Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you."

"I think I should lay down for a bit, but it couldn't hurt to be examined by a medical professional. Are we done here, Commander?"

"Go see the doctor. The rest of you, dismissed." Zach watched as his crew left their chairs, heading for the door.

_"Mission reports are filed, Commander. Want me to patch you through to the council?"_

"Go ahead."

_"Setting up the link now, Commander."_

Facing the projectors, the faces of the three councilors appeared before him. Tavos had the first words. _"Commander Shepard, I understand Dr. T'soni is aboard the Normandy."_

_"I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions." _Sparatus spoke, his tone dull and serious.

"I'll be having one of my men keep a close eye on her, but at the moment, I doubt she's the enemy. The geth were trying to kill her."

_"Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her own daughter."_ Tavos interrupted.

_"Maybe she doesn't know." _Valern concluded.

_"Or maybe we don't know her. We never expected she could become a traitor."_

_"At least the mission was a success."_

_"Apart from the destruction of a major prothean ruin. Was that really necessary, Shepard?"_

"Had the word 'accident' ever came to mind? Or is it not in your vocabulary when it comes to humans?"

_"Shepard?"_

"A minor miscalculation led to the destruction of the ruins. It wasn't planned, but the ruins were filled with geth. We were lucky to make it out alive."

_"Of course, Commander." _Valern agreed. _"The mission must always take priority."_

_"Good luck, Commander."_ Tavos waved her hand lightly as she said good-bye. _"We will be waiting for your next report." _The holograms disappeared.

"Well, that could've gone worse." If he had let his tongue slip with the turians-taste-like-chicken joke Red had come up with, he would've had a major diplomatic incident on his hands. He found it ironic he was thinking about that because Garrus had walked back into the comm room after his debriefing was done.

"Shepard, I wanted to ask you something."

"That's funny, Garrus." Zach turned around to face him. "I was gonna ask for you to do me a favor. I want you to keep an eye on Dr. T'soni while she's aboard."

"Sounds like you don't trust her."

"It's not that I don't trust her. It's that I don't officially think the crew is going to be open with her being onboard. I want to make sure she doesn't become a problem."

"That's what I was going to ask you anyway, Shepard. I was going to volunteer to keep an eye on her while she's onboard. I was also going to ask if you want me to watch Tali's back if she plans on going somewhere alone on the Citadel without you."

"I thought you'd want to do the first thing. But I wasn't expecting you to volunteer for the second one; not after your comment back on the elevator last time."

"I'll admit, I wasn't thinking when I said those things. But I've seen the way you look at Tali. By her people's standards, she's still a child. And given the quarians' reputation, I'd understand why you'd want someone to keep an eye on her. And since I know you were planning on asking Wrex because he's a warrior, I thought it'd be better to make her personal escort a little more subtle. Plus, I think Wrex isn't in the mood to be babysitting."

"But you are?"

"No. I know you want us all to be friends, so I'm doing this as a friend."

Zach rubbed his chin. "Thanks, Garrus. I appreciate what you're doing for me."

"It's no trouble, Shepard." Garrus raised his hand, which Zach shook. "Now, I heard Kaidan's whipping up something you humans eat called 'pancakes' over in the mess area. Even though Tali and I can't eat the food, I thought we could still join you for breakfast anyway."

"I'll be over in a few minutes. You and Tali grab something you can eat and tell Kaidan there better still be some when I get there."

"You got it, Shepard." Garrus then proceeded to walk out the door to the mess hall. Zach exited out of the comm room immediately after and headed towards the bridge. When he stopped next to Joker, the man flying opened up with a joke.

"Uh, I prefer gold to silver over my medal. I figured you'd recommend me for one for pulling your boots out of the fire."

"If we gave you a medal, you'll likely be sitting on a stage bored out of your mind while politicians make speeches about you for hours. Fun, fun."

"That's a good point. They'd probably make me shave, too. I spent the last seven weeks working on this baby. No medal's worth that much. So, Commander, why don't you tell me why you're really up here."

"I like to know my crew. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Joker scoffed. "I see where this is going. You did a background check on me, didn't you. Well I'll tell you the same thing I told the captain. You _want _me as your pilot. I'm not good; I'm not even great, I am the _best _damn helmsman you've ever met. I earned this position. All those commendations in flight school, I _earned _them. Those weren't given to me as charity to my disease."

"What are you talking about?" Zach asked. "Are you sick?"

"You mean... you mean you didn't know. Aw, crap. Okay, I've got Vrolek's Syndrome; brittle bone disease. The marrow in my bones didn't form properly and they're basically hollow; too much force and they'll shatter. I was born with over a dozen fractures; my bones were breaking in the womb. A hundred years ago, I wouldn't have survived my first year, but thanks to modern medical science, I've learned to manage my condition and become a productive member of society. I have to be real careful when I get up to take a piss, though"

"I need to know more about this 'Vrolek's Syndrome' if I'm leaving the Normandy in your hands."

"Yeah, of course you do. It's a rare genetic condition that gives us weaker bones in our bodies. It's treatable, but there's no cure."

"Will it hinder your performance flying the ship?"

"Uh, I don't fly with my feet, Commander. I can handle the Normandy better than any other helmsman in the Alliance Fleet. Put the Normandy in my hands, and I can make her dance for you. Just don't ask me to get up and dance unless you like the sound of snapping shinbones."

"That's all for now, Joker. I'll make sure Kaidan saves you some pancakes."

"Thanks, Commander. I'll let you know when we reach that restricted area that you're looking into. You know, because nothing's restricted to you anymore."

"Uh-huh." Zach agreed. Walking back towards the crew deck, Navigator Pressley was looking at his datapad until he noticed him approaching his direction. When Zach caught eye of his position shift towards him, he stopped. "Can I help you, Pressley?"

"I have concerns about all the aliens aboard, sir. The krogan is likely going to tear out a bulkhead if I look at him wrong, we're housing the daughter of Matriarch Benezia on our ship when we're not even sure we can trust her, I don't think the turian has the right to be here, and the quarian asks too many questions about our ship, which makes me nervous."

"Wrex is more well-behaved than other krogan, Pressley. We don't need to worry about him. Dr. T'soni I'm still keeping an eye on for now. Garrus earned the right to be here, as did Tali. She's the whole reason we're able to go after Saren. As for her asking questions about the ship, it's quarian nature to learn about ship technology. They do live in a fleet of ships, remember?"

"Maybe. But my concerns go deeper than that. This is humanity's responsibility to catch Saren. He attacked a human colony, so he's our problem to deal with. We don't need help from any aliens."

"Pressley, do you have problems with aliens?"

"It's not like that, sir."

"That's exactly what it sounds like, Pressley. I won't allow discrimination and bigotry divide the crew of this ship apart, no matter what race, gender, religion, or sexuality. Are we clear?"

Pressley seemed to start sweating. "Yes, Commander. Sorry, Commander."

"At ease, Pressley. I understand your concerns, but as long as I am in charge, the crew will be what I decide. And right now, I want the help of Tali, Garrus, Wrex, and most likely Liara, once I can confirm she can be fully trusted."

"Yes, Commander. It won't be brought up again."

"Good. Carry on, Pressley."

"Yes, sir." The man got back to work as Zach walked to join his crew in the mess hall.

Already Tali could smell the aroma of Kaidan's cooking in the mess hall as she approached with her sterilized nutrient tube. Despite the fact she couldn't eat human food (or perhaps any solid food for that matter, being stuck in their suits), the smells from his cooking were intoxicating through her olfactory filters.

"What is that you're making, Kaidan?" She asked.

"Pancakes. It's a classic human meal that uses things like eggs, milk or water, and a lot more items. We use the ingredients to make pancake batter, and we pour some of it on a hot griddle. This makes the pancake close to the shape of a circle. We flip them at times to make sure both sides of the pancake are cooked very well." He took one off of the griddle and placed it on a plate, which he showed to Tali. "This is the final result."

"It looks good. Well, at least for a human, anyways."

"You know, if there was a recipe for this that you and Garrus could eat, I'd make you some."

"I appreciate the offer, but you'd have to sterilize it intensely and lock me in a clean room in order for me to eat it."

"I'm sure Shepard would be more than happy to arrange that." The smile on Kaidan's face state he was obviously hiding something.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Kaidan?"

"Not at all, Tali." Tali was about to push it when Ashley and Wrex entered the room.

"Hey, LT. What's cooking?"

"Pancakes. And I made six extra large ones for Wrex." He handed the krogan a plate of large pancakes. Wrex picked one up off of this plate, stared at it, and took a nibble.

He immediately spat it out.

"What the hell is this crap?" He spoke, repulsed by the dreaded fluffy human food.

"They're called pancakes, Wrex. It's a human tradition."

"It tastes terrible."

"Come on. LT's cooking isn't that terrible." Ashley ripped a piece off of her own pancakes and took a bite. "Mmmmm. This is good, Kaidan. What's in these?"

"A pinch of cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla."

Wrex grunted. "No wonder it tastes terrible. You're adding so many unnecessary things."

"It just adds more flavor, Wrex."

"Keep your flavors elsewhere, Alenko." He then walked out.

"Well, Wrex certainly has bad taste buds." Ashley whispered. She then started to glare at Liara as she approached the group; Garrus next to her carrying some turian ration meal in an aluminium casing.

"Good morning." The asari spoke calmly.

"Aren't you supposed to be with the doctor, T'soni." It was obvious that Ash was trying to hide the hostility in her voice.

"Your doctor told me I'm fine. I just need to eat and get some rest." Kaidan gave her a plate, which Liara took, nodded her head in thanks, and found a seat at the table. Garrus sat next to her and opened up his meal. Ashley took a seat across from Liara, a glare in her eyes. Kaidan then finished making the last of the pancakes, which he left next to Shepard's door on two plates; one for Joker was covered up by a lid and labeled with his name. When he was finished he sat next to Ashley.

Tali turned to face Shepard walking towards them. "Shepard, how are you?"

"I'm good. Thanks for asking. How about you guys?"

"Wrex didn't like my cooking." Kaidan commented.

"Really?"

"He took one bite and spat it out."

"Wow. What a downer."

"I saved you and Joker some. Your plates are by your door."

"Thanks." Shepard then proceeded to walk to his door and pick up the plate that wasn't covered. But instead of joining his crew, he opened the door to his cabin.

"You're not going to join us?" Ashley asked.

"The table's a little too crowded, and I don't want to disturb the two having a conversation just so I can sit to eat."

"So, stand and eat like Tali's doing."

"Nah, I'll eat in my cabin. I'll be fine."

"Want some company?" Tali let slip off of her tongue. And for the moment, she wanted to take her words back, but stopped herself when Shepard smiled.

"Sure, Tali. You can join me. I wouldn't want you to be left standing in front of these guys eating out of a tube."

"What?" Ashley demanded as Tali's cheeks flushed behind her mask.

"Well, you did say I could stand like Tali's doing. And since the rest of the engineering crew is sitting at the other table, I thought I'd offer anyway." Shepard waved to Tali. "Come on in."

"Thanks, Shepard." She walked into his cabin smiling behind her mask, unaware of the glare that Ashley was giving her. When Shepard closed his door, Kaidan turned serious on Ash.

"That's some lame crap you're pulling, Chief."

"What?" Ashley asked annoyingly.

"First Liara, then Tali? Are you just so full of bigotry that you can't acknowledge aliens as a person?"

"Who says I'm a bigot?"

"Your attitude suggests it, Williams."

"Screw you, LT. You need to mind your own business and keep your thoughts to yourself."

"The same applies to you, Ash." That last remark made Ashley leave the table.

"What's her problem? With aliens, I mean?" Garrus asked.

"It probably has something to do with her grandfather. He was the one who surrendered Shanxi to the turians during the First Contact War. They charged him a war criminal but demoted him and stuck him behind a desk instead of throwing him in prison."

"Oh. That explains everything."

"Yeah."

"What about you? What's your opinion on aliens?"

"Well, I respect your kind more than other humans would. And from what I've seen and heard about you, Garrus, I think we can prove that our two species can cooperate without wanting to kill each other."

"That means a lot, Kaidan." Garrus smiled.

"No problem." They both turned to Liara. "Now, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, Liara."

Inside Zach's cabin, Tali had sat across from him as he cut up his pancakes. Taking a quick bite, he finished chewing before he spoke. "So, Tali, I was thinking that I would take you and Kaidan along for the investigation into Admiral Kahoku's squad disappearance."

"Really?" She spoke as she pulled out her food tube from her insertion port on her helmet.

"Yeah. I thought I'd take it slow with you; bring you on easier missions before we get into missions that involve violence."

"But I can fight geth, Commander. I'm sure I don't need to worry about killing other people."

"But do you consider the geth living creatures?"

Tali paused for a moment. "No. I don't."

"That's the answer I expected from you. You don't know what it's like killing people. For some people, like Wrex, it's a job they do without any thought. For someone like Stark, it's an art that he seems to revel in. And nobody's first experience is always the same as another."

"What was your first kill like?"

"It was... unexpected. I might explain it later, but I don't want to give you a reason not to fight people. Because on this mission, it may be necessary that we'll have to kill more than the geth."

"Maybe. I hope I'll be ready for it when I'm right."

"Tali, if there's one thing I've learned during my time with the Alliance, it's that no one is ready for their first kill."

"Did you know what Stark's first kill was?"

"Yes, actually. He told me about it before we became enemies. He had been captured by the batarians on Mindoir with his brother, Robert. They were getting ready to place a neural implant and shock collar on them and turn them into slaves. The batarian leader was within the immediate area. None of the batarians realized his biotic potential, so he got the jump on them before they could stop him. As he grasped the leader's throat, he pulled his knife from the sheath and threw him in the air with his biotics, slitting his throat as he came down. The feeling within Stark as the one responsible for so much death died in front of him was extremely pleasant to him. I always wondered if Stark was destined to become a killer, or if he's the human version of Saren; a sadistic madman that some would consider the anti-christ, killing innocents and starting wars, as Saren no doubt has done against humanity."

"What's the 'anti-christ' you mentioned?"

"It's an ancient story in a holy book known as the bible. The story basically explains the day the devil's son will come and bring death to the world. Unfortunately, it seems the old ways are dying out as human influence expands the galaxy."

"You're religious?"

"I was taught on Earth about the bible by a priest named Father Callahan. He's a good man, but not so friendly towards aliens. Although, I suspect he actually likes the asari more than he cares to admit."

"What makes you say that?"

"My last visit to him, I saw him yell at an asari who was trying to hide her smile. His yelling also seemed too rehearsed. I suspect he actually got closer to her than even I would care to admit."

"You mean he was-"

"Yes. I believe he was in bed with an asari."

"Keelah, he is such a hypocrite."

"Do your people have any kind of religion?"

"We used to hold beliefs in our ancestors, and we had tried to create VIs of them before the geth rebellion. When the home world was taken, we lost all of the VIs to the geth, who had destroyed them. I guess you could say the old ways are dying out for us, too."

"I'm sorry, Tali." Zach said sympathetically.

"It's all right, Shepard." Tali looked towards her hand for a second. "Shepard, you wouldn't happen to have a copy of your religious text, would you?"

Zach raised an eyebrow. "You wanna learn about human religion?"

"I guess. I mean, I'm serving on a human ship. It might be interesting to learn about human things."

Zach made a small smile come across his face. He took the last bite of his pancake before he got up and headed for the drawer from his desk. Opening it, he reached past the small box inside and grabbed a black book, marked down as the King James version of the bible, and brought it to the table. "This was a going away present from Father Callahan the last time I visited him. You can keep it if you want."

Tali's eyes widened. "Doesn't it belong to you?"

"He gave it to me as a gift. That means I can decide what to do with it. If I want to give it away as a gift to a friend, I can do it. And I'm willing to let you have it. Consider it a diplomatic gift if you want to; sharing one's culture with another's."

Tali took the book in her hands and flipped through it, treating the book very carefully. "What's in the book?"

"Most people consider them stories of folklore about a powerful being that created everything and had many chosen men and women follow his example and spread the message of his existence. I think that's how an alien may see it as well."

"I'll most definitely take a look through it when I have the time. Thank you, Commander."

"Please, call me Zach. Or call me Shepard if you don't want to be formal."

"That's your first name?" Tali's eye could be seen risen from within the helmet.

"Yeah. Most people call me Shepard, though. It's as if they don't think my name fits."

"Well then, Shepard, I think I should go back down to engineering and see what I could do to help. I'll be ready for the next mission when we get there."

"Okay. Talk to you later, Tali."

"All right. See ya." Tali got up with his bible in hand and her heart was fluttering over Shepard's kindness. Zach watched as she left his cabin, smiling at how much Tali listened to him; asking him questions about humanity as he returned with questions of the Migrant Fleet. He liked those kinds of chats. It was comforting to chat with someone that wasn't his superior officer again for the first time.

It reminded him of his chats with-

He stopped his thoughts at the realization and looked back at the desk where the drawer was still open. The box could be seen plain as day from where he sat. Getting up, he immediately shut the drawer.

_I don't want to think about it now. Not when I'm actually becoming friends with her._

_But you will. _The manacle voice his head spoke. _Very soon._

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know the segment with Stark was shorter than normal, but that's because I want to bunch together the missing unit and colony of the dead sidequests into one chapter. So next time, those two quests are going to be the main events. Also, I'm thinking about a few announcements.

1. My brother has started his own account and has started his own mass effect fan story called Mass Effect: Dark Beginnings. While it's not based off of himself like my story is (his self-character is a colonist/war hero/paragon/vanguard/he-copied-me-and-romanced-Tali character), it is based off of his other vanguard Tarius, who's a ruthless spacer paragon that romances Jack. He's only really starting out as well, and while I haven't reviewed it, I did go over it and made him fix his mistakes before I wrote this down. Go check it out and give him a shoutout, stating I sent you.

2. I'm thinking of getting more months for my XBOX LIVE account and allowing those with an xbox to join my friends list and play some ME3 multiplayer and maybe some Halo Reach (Halo 4 in the future. I couldn't go out on black friday to get it.) games. Now, I won't be able to play with you guys everyday (being a guy that works mainly overnights now) but I'll try to be up on the servers any chance I'll get.

Anyway, shoutout to ProjektNemesis7 and TW6464, and I'll also throw out Bud89, since we had a good chat recently. Until next time. Hope to see many of you at the rendevous.


	16. Chapter 15: Worms and Zombies

Chapter 15: Worms and Zombies

Orbiting Edolus, 9:35 am

Sparta System, Artemis Tau Cluster

Zach equipped his pistol to his belt as he grabbed his breather helmet off of the top of his locker. He didn't believe he needed the weapons, but it wouldn't hurt to carry them in case the reason the recon team died was because of a rogue band of pirates. Slipping on the helmet, he headed to the elevator and pressed the down button. After a slow descent, he exited out to see Kaidan dressed up in his light Onyx suit nearly every Alliance marine seemed to wear polishing his weapons with Ash. Tali was right next to Garrus, helping him repair a panel on the mako. The wires were apparently frayed.

"What's wrong with the mako?" Zach asked behind his helmet's mask.

"Just some minor damage the geth caused. I'm working on trying to repair it quickly. Tali decided to help, seeing she's a valuable tech expert and she's coming along on the mission."

"Garrus, the geth had fried the major power systems to the shields and the omni-gel dispensers installed onto the mako." Tali commented with an annoyed tone. "If whatever or whoever we're facing has the means to penetrate the shields and breach the hull, we're goners. Luckily, I can make minor repairs that should hold up long enough for us to get back to the Citadel to get replacement parts."

"How long will that take?"

"It should be a few minutes, Shepard. Don't worry. The mako will be fine for at least this mission."

"Good job, Tali. Let me know when the mako's ready." As soon as Zach walked away, Tali turned to Garrus.

"So, how's Shepard's driving?"

"Extremely crazy." He answered in a shaky tone. "Pray that he doesn't get you and Kaidan killed."

"Is he really that bad at driving this thing?" Tali pointed her thumb at the mako, the repairs complete.

"Well, maybe we both exaggerate how bad he is at handling the mako. Just watch his shields when he rams into a geth armature."

"He rams geth armatures?"

_"At. Full. Speed."_

Tali's eyes could be seen growing wide.

Zach stopped next to Kaidan as he equipped his now-cleaned pistol onto his belt. "You all set, Lieutenant?"

"I'm ready as I'll ever be. Is the mako going to work?"

"As long as Tali's makeshift repairs hold, which I'm sure won't be a problem." Just as he finished that sentence, Tali walked over.

"I've just finished the makeshift repairs to the mako's systems. The mako should be able to hold up for the mission."

"Thanks, Tali. Good work. Hop in to moderate shields."

"You got it, Shepard." Tali attempted a salute she saw some humans perform when Shepard walked by. Zach smiled at returned the salute. Ashley rolled her eyes as Tali walked away.

"Watch it, Chief." Kaidan warned as he followed suite. Zach stared at Ashley as she focused her attention on his gold-tinted visor.

"Williams, when I get back, I need to have a talk with you."

"What's this about?"

"It's duty-related."

"All right, sir. I'll be here waiting."

"Good. We'll be back in twenty." Zach headed for the mako as Ashley turned around to hide the embarrassment on her face. He heard Wrex laughing about something as he closed the door to the mako. Buckling up next to Kaidan in the driver's seat, he activated the mako's engines as they purred to life.

"Shepard?" Tali spoke quietly. "Garrus says you're horrible at driving this thing. He's kidding, right?" It was quiet for a few seconds. "Right?"

"Yes and no. It all depends on the terrain." Zach saw his answer worried Tali as she rubbed her hands nervously. He cursed himself for speaking his mind and waited for the cargo bay door to open. The terrain outside the view was a desert sandstorm. He kicked the vehicle into gear as it dropped out quickly into the storm. He looked back quickly to see Tali gripping her seatbelt tightly. Turning back around, he hit the thrusters and slowed the mako down for their descent. Their tires touched down on the ground smoothly.

"Well, that was a smooth landing." Kaidan commented.

Zach turned around and faced Tali. "Are you all right, Tali?"

"It kind of reminded me of how our ships can be like during the bad times of space travel." She spoke slowly.

Zach smiled behind his helmet. "Welcome to the Gauntlet, Tali."

Chasca's surface, 6:57 am

Matano Cluster, Maroon Sea

Stark yawned as he looked around on the radar for signs of the zombies he was to fight. Shanghai drove silently along the grassy path that led to the settlements. Already, Stark was fighting the urge to fall asleep as he was bored out of his mind. They had been driving for twenty minutes now and they still hadn't reached the closest building.

"Are we there yet?" Stark complained.

"Almost." Shanghai spoke. "Just over this ridge." The mako stopped when they reached the ridge. "Use the scope. See if you can find any hostiles."

Stark zoomed in with the gun camera and searched the building. He zoomed in closer and saw the first husk. "I have confirmation on the zombie threat. Request permission to fill their dead bodies with holes and blowing them into tiny pieces."

"You don't need permission. Just fire the gun."

"Whatever you say, Ghost Rider." Stark pulled the trigger and shredded up the first husk with bullet holes. The other zombies came running out at them, and Stark used the cannon on them all, disentigrating them effectively. Another horde came right at them and Shanghai ran over them all, crushing some under his tires and knocking back the rest into the building behind them.

"The mako is awesome!" Shanghai yelled. "It can fight like a krogan and run like a leopard!"

"And the only one that can't really drive it is Commander Shepard!" Stark joined in. "Let's hop out and check out the interior of the building. I want this place effectively cleared out. No zombie will be left standing when we're finished here."

"Whatever you say, Sherlock." Shanghai unbuckled himself and hopped out; his pistol in his hand as Stark hopped out with his shotgun. Looking around, Stark could see giant spikes alongside the building.

"What the hell are these?" Stark asked.

"These were the spikes used on Eden Prime. The Alliance has classified them as 'Dragon's Teeth'."

"Seems appropriate." Stark headed to the door. "Stay sharp. There may be more inside the complexes."

"Right." Shanghai switched to his rifle. The door opened and the two of them ran in, guns at the ready. There was no immediate threat in the room, so they hugged themselves next to the door and opened the next door. Stark ran in first, and upon instinct pulled the trigger on a husk, decapitating it effectively. The other husks started following suite and ran for the door. Shanghai fired an incendiary attack at the first one he saw, and it lit up in flame, screaming its head off as it turned to ash.

"What the hell was that?"

"New Alliance programs for engineers. We can now burn and freeze hostiles. It's quite handy."

"I'll say." Stark threw a shockwave down on the ground and knocked three more husks into the wall. He then used his biotics to pull two of those husks towards them, filling them with shot and bullets. The third was frozen by Shanghai. Stark pulled out his knife and chucked it at the frozen corpse, shattering it immediately. "I'm Henry Stark and _that _was my favorite kill with my knife so far!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's get to killing more husks." Shanghai walked out while Stark retrieved his knife.

"They're zombies!" He yelled back.

Zach searched on the scanner for the signal that would lead them to the recon team. He found the signal was closer than he originally thought, which meant that they would have a shorter and easier drive.

"Well, our drive will be much shorter than I thought. It's just up ahead."

"Good." Tali muttered, making Zach think that Garrus had a chat with Tali about his driving before they left. He kicked the vehicle into gear and started driving. Over a small hill, they could see a parked M-29 Grizzly. There appeared to be bodies scattered all around the ground.

"That might be Kahoku's team." Kaidan stated grimly. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Zach answered. "I have a bad feeling about this." He drove the mako forward slowly.

That's when the ground began to shake.

"What the hell is that?" Kaidan asked.

Zach's eyes grew wide behind his visor. "Oh, crap!"

A giant thresher maw popped out of the ground, releasing its horrific shriek as it focused its sights on the mako. Tali's heart began beating faster as she stared at the giant creature that marveled above them. And in those moments, she was afraid for two reasons.

She was afraid of the maw and she was afraid of what might happen with Shepard in this situation.

"Thresher maw! We need to pull back!" Kaidan barked.

Zach freed himself from his paralyzed state of fear as his hatred flowed through his veins. "No! We're taking that thing out!"

"Sir?" Kaidan asked.

"Use the gun on the damn thing! We can't leave it standing!" Tali's eyes widened at her commander's sudden change of attitude. Never before had she seen someone with so much anger towards something. Not even her father held so much anger towards the geth for taking the home world. It was unsettling, as well, to see such a good person be so hateful.

"Aye, aye, sir! Aiming the gun at the maw!" Kaidan moved the gun towards the giant beast. "Keep the mako steady for me, sir!"

"Noted!" Tali typed on the console in front of her to try and enhance their shields so they survive longer against the thresher maw. The mako continued to swerve around horrendously as machine gun fire hit the thresher maw's thick hide. It dropped back in the ground, but they knew it wasn't dead yet. The maw popped up behind them, yelling again before spitting a stream of acid at the mako. Zach turned the vehicle in time to avoid the attack, but memories were flashing through Zach's head.

_"Shepard, get my men the hell out of here!" Ericson yelled. Already the small group of soldiers he had led in the remains of the colony was being effectively wiped out. Zach was finding the commander's suicide attempt futile; there was no way his small company would survive the onslaught._

_"Commander, what you're doing is suicide!"_

_"We need to save as many as we can. Get the rest of my men out of here, Shepard! That's a goddamn order!"_

_"Shepard, we have to go!" Toombs tried to drag him away, but he shook him off._

_"I'll get them out of here, sir! I promise!"_

_"It's not a promise you can easily keep, Shep-" The commander's voice was silenced as the venom burned through his helmet and melted his face._

_"Ericson!"_

Snapping back into reality, he turned the mako to face the thresher maw as Kaidan aimed the cannon and fired it straight at its mouth. The round exploded through its skull, and the maw screamed its death throes as it drowned itself back into the earth. Everybody in the vehicle was breathing very hard; Zach was calming himself down as it became incredibly warm inside his suit, Kaidan was removing his helmet to wipe the sweat off of his forehead, and Tali was eerily quiet behind them.

"Everybody all right?" Zach asked quietly.

"I'm fine, although I don't know if I should consider ourselves lucky that we defeated that maw, Commander." Kaidan spoke.

Zach turned to face Tali. "You okay, Tali?"

The young quarian in front of him stared down at her legs.

"Tali?"

She started rubbing her hands. That was when Zach started to realize her body started to shake. While he wasn't good at reading everyone's body language, he knew quarians gave off their feelings better through their actions instead of their facial expressions. She had been afraid of what happened.

But was she more afraid of the maw or his sudden change of attitude?

Zach unbuckled his seatbelt and brought himself closer to Tali. He took her trembling hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Tali, it's okay." His voice trembled, but he kept his words positive. "There's nothing to be afraid of now."

Tali looked up to Shepard's face. His visor had switched from the tinted gold to a visibly clear line. She focused on his blue eyes, looked deep into the majestic design of his dark blue irises, and she saw yet again his eyes didn't hold the anger he had towards the thresher maw.

Only sadness floated in his eyes.

"I'm all right, Shepard." Her voice trembled. "I just need a minute."

Zach smiled behind his helmet. "Okay. Take as much time as you need. We'll just be outside." He turned around to face Kaidan, who slipped his helmet back on. "Kaidan, any sign of seismic activity on the sensors?"

"Not since we killed that thresher maw. I think that was the only one."

"Good. We're heading out to investigate." He opened the door and hopped out. Kaidan followed him out, and Tali mustered up enough courage to leave her seat and join them in the storm outside.

The first thing they saw was the bodies.

"This must be Kahoku's unit." Kaidan investigated. "They have the Alliance symbol on their armor."

"I guess the maw took them out." Zach concluded.

"But how?"

"Shepard!" Tali yelled, "Over here!" Zach and Kaidan followed her voice to see a large beacon running nearby. "This is a distress beacon. It must have been placed here to lure Kahouku's men into a trap."

"Who would do such a thing?" Kaidan was puzzled.

Zach smacked his helmet. "Fate is cruel, indeed."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Kaidan. You should at least be able to figure this out. Distress beacon, thresher maw, dead recon unit. It's Akuze all over again!"

"Akuze?"

"This is the same way it started. We were lead to the colony's first settlement, Belator, from a distress beacon. A nest of about seventeen thresher maws tore through our platoon of fifty-two. I'm the only known survivor of the incident." Zach pulled out his pistol and shot the beacon, destroying it. "Whoever the bastard is that is responsible for Akuze, they're responsible for this incident."

"Shepard, calm down." Kaidan spoke calmly. "We need to figure this out, but I don't think you need to be angry about this just yet. We need you to have a clear head if we're going to try and find the ones responsible."

Zach let himself relax. "You're right. We should tell Admiral Kahouku. Maybe he can help us figure out who's responsible for this mess." Zach turned around, and stopped when Tali placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Shepard, are you all right?" Her voice was serene, calming his nerves even more.

"I'll be fine."

"Do you want to talk about this?"

Zach pondered on this question. He knew the mission had to come first, but this had been a problem for him for six years now. He needed to talk to someone about this soon, but did he really want to throw this all on Tali? Did he really want to tell her how he saw his friends die or how _she _had reacted in their final moments before fate became a cruel mistress?

"Not now." He decided. "I don't want to talk to anyone about this yet."

Tali was about to speak again, but stopped herself. She understood he needed time, but she still did want to help him. It was, after all, quarian nature to help the well-being of the crew aboard the ship they serve. Perhaps if she understood his situation more, she could try to help him out.

"Joker," Zach spoke through his radio. "we're done here. Bring the Normandy to pick us up."

_"Aye, aye, Commander. Eta thirty seconds."_

"Let's get back into the mako. We've got work to do."

Stark smiled as the other settlement was clear of the husk abominations. He put his shotgun back onto its magnetic clip, stomping his boot on a corpse in front of him. Shanghai followed suite and clipped his rifle back on his back.

"This mission is so easy." Stark spoke. "The zombies go down easily."

"We still have one more place to look." Shanghai pointed out. "There's a research station up on the top of that hill behind this building. It's highy possible we'll get our answers there."

"Well, let's get going. I'd hate to keep more zombies waiting." Stark headed outside and assumed command of the turret again. Shanghai drove the mako up the hill slowly, making Stark get impatient with the need to see another zombie's head explode. His appetite was well-fed as three more ran from the left of the science complex outside, which took a multitude of bullets to kill. Following the same boring procedure again for the third time, they walked out of the mako and headed inside. This time, the entrance was different; a narrow hallway welcomed them instead of the small room of the other buildings. Stark went up first, carrying his shotgun close. He opened the door only to be welcomed by a small room with no husks in the area.

"It's clear." He whispered, hoping he was wrong. He moved forward and headed to another door. He opened that one to another hallway. "Who came up with the design for all of these buildings? I swear, the architects have gotten duller nowadays."

"These are colony structures." Shanghai answered. "Of course they'd be dull. They're used everywhere."

"Really?! Whose idea was that?!"

"No idea. Keep moving."

Stark headed to the final door and prayed to see a zombie. Sure enough, a husk was crouching on the ground who turned to face the visitors. Stark smiled as he held his shotgun in one hand and shot its head off at point blank range just as Shanghai pulled his rifle off of his back. "Shanghai, head to the left. I'll go right."

"Copy that." The two men seperated and found the final batch of zombies. Throwing a shockwave on the ground, Stark shot at the opponents that flew up in the air. Shanghai froze three husks in place as he hit another one with a barrage of bullets from his M7-Avenger. They both combined a biotic reave and incendiary attack to create an explosion that finished the rest.

"I love this job!" Stark jumped on top of a crate as he fired at a husk he thought was still moving.

"Keep your voice down." Shanghai whispered. "There may be more. There's a door over there that should split into two more rooms. I'll take the room on the left and you'll take the room on the right."

Stark hopped off of the crate. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get your knots in a twist, boy scout." He headed through the door and moved on to the room on the right. As he approached the room, he heard some kind of commotion behind the door. Bringing his knife up and placing his shotgun back onto the clip, Stark moved his hand slowly for the door controls. He tapped the button fast and threw his arm around the corner in a slicing motion.

There was no target to meet his knife.

Looking in confusion, he noticed that a console in front of him was playing some final message. Stark walked to the console and played it from the beginning:

_"Dr. Banner, the samples we were given by Cerberus have seemed to escape the facility."_

_"What? Damn it, Griffith, if the colony finds out about our experiments, we're doomed to failure. And when the Illusive Man finds out-"_

_"That's another thing. The Illusive Man's sent troops to contain the situation."_

_"Contain the- oh, shit! They're going to kill us all! We need to get out of here!"_

_"They're already here. There's nowhere to run."_

_"Then we have to fight. Somebody said they had a crate from Calypso brought into storage. Maybe it's a weapons cache. They've been known to make some excellent weapons for the turian and Alliance military."_

_"Perhaps, but there's no time. They're-" The man speaking loses his head from a shotgun blast at close range. The other man started begging for his life before he met the same fate. The shooter then appeared in the camera for a brief moment._

_"Your services are no longer required, Doctor." The man then proceeded to shoot the console and then the camera, leaving static as the final second of the clip._

Stark took notice of the area to see the scarring on the console's surface and the shrapnel from the camera. Looking at the ground, he also found the bodies of Dr. Banner and Dr. Griffith. He was surprised he never noticed he was stepping in a pool of blood. Taking out an OSD, he quickly saved the final recording and headed to the other room across from him. The door was closed and he heard a loud noise.

"Star!" Stark yelled, hoping to hear the secret code word he was taught back in basic training.

He heard no response.

"Star!" He yelled again as he opened the door. Shanghai was staring at a crate, unaware of his partner's shouting. Stark marched over to him with anger in his eyes. "Why didn't you respond?"

"You called?"

"Yeah. You were supposed to reply 'Texas.'"

"I thought you were calling my name."

"No, I-" Stark shut up when he saw what was inside the open crate. "Is that a bomb?"

"Yes. I was busy trying to make sure it wasn't armed. I thought you were calling me by name, which was why I ignored you. You're supposed to call to me with my code name."

"Why do you think I was calling you by name?"

"Because my real name is-" Shanghai shut up when he heard an electronic noise. They looked down to see that the bomb had been activated.

It was going to go off in sixty seconds.

"Hey, Shanghai, you wouldn't happen to know how to disarm a bomb, would you?"

All of the lights around the counter shut off. Shanghai typed on his omni-tool.

"Not after it shuts me out."

"How did a fucking bomb shut you out of its systems?"

"This is obviously a Calypso Hercules bomb; completely unstoppable when activated. We need to get out of here. There may be more at the settlements we missed."

"Aw, shit." Stark slid his knife into its sheath and ran alongside Shanghai out the many doors of the complex. "How much time?"

"Twenty-five seconds!" They got into the mako and shut the door. The mako immediately kicked into gear and drove off of the hill just before the top of the bunker exploded into flame. Stark was yelling his head off as their vehicle slid down the hill. When the mako was on flat ground, the nearest complex exploded, making Shanghai swerve the vehicle to avoid the blast radius.

"Way to go! Make use of your driving skills, limo-boy! Save me from the explosions!" Stark was sweating from the sudden shock of the situation. Once the mako was well out of range from the situation, Stark pounded his fist on the window. "What the fuck just happened?!"

"Maybe Calypso had a hand in the people's deaths."

"No. A group called Cerberus was giving two scientists at the facility 'samples' and that they had escaped. I'm thinking that Cerberus came here to 'contain the situation', and that they turned the people here into the zombies. Perhaps Calypso knew and had plans to 'contain the situation' themselves."

"Set up bombs to take out a colony of husks? I think that's a little extreme."

_"Ground team, what's going on?" _The captain of the Moscow called from the radio. _"We're catching strange thermal readings from up here."_

"Sir, bombs just took out the colony." Shanghai spoke.

There was a moment of silence. _"Stark, what the hell did you do?"_

"Sure, blame it on me." Stark spoke sarcastically. "I'm a ruthless, sadistic killer that would sacrifice an entire planet full of people just to get the job done. I just pulled three magical bombs out of my ass and blew up the entire colony."

"What Stark means to say, sir," Shanghai interrupted, "is that there were three Calypso Hercules-grade bombs set up within the complexes. The first two we missed, but we found the third one just as it activated in front of us. We barely escaped with our lives."

_"Is Calypso responsible for the colony's disappearance?"_

"Stark doesn't believe so. He has evidence that Cerberus had handed two doctors samples that escaped their quarantine procedures. Cerberus then turned the colony into the husk creatures, and Calypso likely activated the bomb to clear the area of the husk creatures."

_"This needs to be brought up to Admiral Hackett in your debriefing, Stark. We're bringing the ship to you. Be ready to leave the planet."_

"Aye, sir." Shanghai shut the radio off. "Do you really think Calypso has nothing to do with this?"

"I don't know." Stark rubbed his eyes. "But I most definitely plan to find out."

As the mako landed into the Moscow's cargo hold, the infiltrator looked through his scope at the burning fires. He smiled at the carnage his master could cause with the numerous projects they worked on. If they were to prepare for the reaper invasion, they needed weapons like the Hercules bomb in order to even damage their hulls.

A quick beep could be heard through the implant in his implant.

"Ah, Rapture." The Scottish voice of Red spoke again. "I saw the fireworks from here. I'm impressed by your performance."

A holographic image appeared out of nowhere next to Red's head. The black image that took form wavered for a second as it realigned the particles into a solid holographic form. _"Statement: That is my job, Red." _The voice of the Intelligence was deep. _"I am designed for combat senarios that require extreme prejudice. That includes the disabling of ships, the destruction of cities, or the slow, painful death of organic and synthetic targets."_

"And you do your job really well. Although, I admit, you scare the hell out of me."

_"Humorous Comment: What did you expect? I am not designed to look like a bunny and sound like Blasto, the First Hanar Spectre."_

"No, you look very creepy and you sound like a highly-trained killer, and I'm afraid that you're going to try to take over my brain and turn me into your slave in which we kill every member of Griffin Branch."

_"Clarification: If I took over your brain, I would find that the damage done to it would make you an unacceptable slave. However, because of my ties to Father, I have sworn not to cause any death I am not contracted with. Statistic: I have successfully caused the death of three-hundred and twelve organic targets; one with laughing gas. You, of course, have racked up your own body count for him."_

"Most definitely less than the amount you just stated."

_"Reminder: We must be back at base in two minutes. The exit port is behind us."_

"Okay." Red began moving. "I walk a lonely road-"

_"Statement: Unless you shut up right now, I will rewrite your mental functions so you are a mute."_

"Sorry." Red shut up as he used the exit port to Intai'sei.

Ten minutes after Zach got back from the mission, he was waiting in the elevator to go down to speak to Ashley quickly. He needed to set the record straight with her that he wasn't going to allow racism on his ship. The signs were obvious now that Kaidan seemed to point them out. If he couldn't control her comments, he may have to have her moved from the armory to an area not nearby his alien crew. Walking out when the elevator finally opened, Zach immediately walked out and headed to the armory segment of the cargo hold. Ashley put the weapon in her hand down on the table and turned around.

"Commander, you wanted to talk to me?"

"I've been noticing the crew is having problems with the non-humans onboard. I believe you have concerns as well."

"Well, I have concerns about the aliens, Vakarian and Wrex. With all due respect, should we really give them access to the Alliance resources?"

"What, you don't have a problem with Tali or Liara?"

"Liara, you've shoved into the back room of the med bay. And Tali is being watched by Engineer Adams. But I don't really think we should be giving them access to the Normandy. It's the most advanced Alliance ship we have."

"Co-designed by the turians, chief. Do you have a problem with our allies?"

"I'm not sure I'd consider the council races allies. We, humanity I mean, have to learn to look after ourselves."

"So we should just stand alone? No help from the other races?"

"I don't think we should turn down allies. I'm just not sure we can trust that they'll _stay _allies. It's just like what's happening now. If the council's back are against the wall, they'll abandon us."

"Uh, I'm not exactly sure the sticks up their asses are that far up. Sure, people hold grudges and prejudice, but they're not that evil."

"Look, when your running from a bear, you sic your dog on it and run. As much as you love your dog, it isn't human. It's not racism really. Members of their own species will be more important to them than the other races."

Zach shook his head at this. It reminded him of the talks he had with Father Callahan. "You sound like one of those Terra Firma pamphlets, Chief."

"Terra Firma is a pack of wild jackals! The founding fathers had ideals. I hope my reasons are more acceptable. My father, grandfather, great-grandmother; they all picked up the rifle and swore the oath of service. I guess we just tend to look at Earth's interests as our own."

"Hmm. I think I can see where your concerns are coming from. But you're going to have to talk to aliens, like it or not."

"It won't be a problem, Commander. You say jump, I say how high. You tell me to kiss a turian, I'll ask which cheek."

Zach had to hold back his smile for a few more seconds. He turned to Garrus and let loose his crazy idea. "Hey, Garrus, Ash volunteered to kiss your cheek!"

"I prefer the right side! It's the good one!" He laughed. When Zach turned around, the look on Ashley's face was priceless. Zach joined in on the laughing, and Wrex even chuckled.

"Commander!" She yelled.

"Have a good day, Ashley!" He waved as he headed for the elevator again. As Ashley faced Garrus, the strange smile on the turian's face gave her a disgusted look.

"Shut up, Vakarian." She muttered as she went back to the weapon she was cleaning.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, this chapter took a little longer because I've been busy working a few overtimes at work and playing video games. I even got the Omega DLC (sad that Nyreen had to die [spoilers] at the end of it, but I like how I finally got the N7 Valkyrie) but I don't think it was worth 1200 microsoft points. I beat ME3 again tonight (but I accidentally got Miranda killed off [not that I'm crying about it. I had over 7,000 war assets]). Now I'm adding any of you guys that follow my story on XBOX LIVE. Just send me a PM with your gamertag and send a friend request to BlueSpartan107. Whenever I'm on, you can join me in a game of ME3 or Halo and if you have headphones you can chat with me about the story; your questions, opinions, and ideas on how to improve it. If you join me on XBOX, you will also have a chance to learn of the three factions I will be having for a ME3 side story I might have mentioned in a previous Author's Note (or I could've been PMing ProjektNemesis7). Shoutout to ProjektNemesis7, TW6464, and Bud89, who is also the first follower to join me in the fight against the reapers, Cerberus, and the dreaded Collectors (and he was _definitely _better than me at that). Until we meet again, followers.


	17. Chapter 16: A Slight Detour

Chapter 16: A Slight Detour

As the elevator finally stopped at the top floor, Zach laughed at his little joke he just had with the crew downstairs. It was funny to see Ashley's face after what he and Garrus said. Hopefully, she would understand that her cooperation with the aliens was needed if they were to complete the mission. If she couldn't cooperate, then he'd have her removed from the ship only as a last resort. It wasn't something he'd enjoy, but it might become necessary.

Turning towards Kaidan's work area, he decided to chat with him. Kaidan quickly rubbed his forehead before turning towards his commanding officer.

"Anything you need, Commander?"

"Just felt like chatting. Why don't we start with our new crew member. What's your opinion on Liara?"

"Dr. T'soni? Seems like a sweet girl; little easy on the eyes." He cleared his throat. "I mean if you like the bookish sort."

Zach cocked an eyebrow. "Any intentions there, Lieutenant?"

"No, Commander. Just art appreciation."

"You consider the asari 'art?'"

"Well, they are the most attractive species in the galaxy, and they are mainly dancers. What about you, Commander? What's your own opinion on the asari, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Sure, they're attractive, but they live for nearly a thousand years, which means they could end up having a thousand lovers. That's not something I'd like to find out if I were to be with someone."

"So you're one of those 'wait for the right girl' kind of guys? The kind that wants someone to be with only them?"

"A girl that has a lifespan like mine and only wishes to be with me, yes. That's the kind of girl I would want to be with."

"Ever found a girl like that?"

"I had perhaps, once. But life was cruel, so I'm still alone."

"Do I really wanna know what that means, or are you not gonna talk about it?"

"It's a little personal. Why don't we switch topics. I'm trying to get a sense of where the crew's at. Thoughts?"

"Is this an official inspection, or off the record?"

"Alenko, when you're talking to me, you can consider it off the record."

"That's rather generous of you, sir. Okay. This Saren is looking up records on galactic extinction, but we can't get help from the Council? Sorry, Commander! There's writing on the wall, but no one's reading it!"

"Trying to deny something bad and believe everything's all right? Sounds like human nature to me."

"I guess some things can carry to species well enough. It's just I would've thought something as old as the council races could've seen this coming." Kaidan shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry if I got a little informal there. Protocol wasn't much of an issue back in BAat."

"How about you tell me about BAat."

"Biotic Acclimation and Temperance didn't last past the airlock. To the kids they hauled in, it was brain camp. Sorry, hauled in is unkind. We were 'encouraged to commit to an evaluation of our abilities where an understanding of biotics could be compiled.' There are worse results to accidental exposure to element zero. Beats the brain tumors most kids grew up with."

"You know, I had a friend once who was exposed to element zero. Her abilities were incredible, but we both believe the 'accident' we encountered when she got her biotics was staged by her father. He was some rich businessman who put humanity first. I think he was a major stockholder in Calypso when he was still alive."

"Yeah, some people believe that corporations staged accidents to create biotics. It only got iffy after '63 where Conatix started running out of first-gen subjects. What about you? Any biotic potential yourself, Commander?"

"Nope. And after all of the fights I've had with biotics, I'd rather not have that kind of power."

"You mean like that fight against Stark on Torfan? I heard it was rough."

"Yeah. He tried using his knife most of the battle, but once I removed it from his grasp, he gave me a full biotic punch to my ribs. He was also holding me in the air by my neck using both his hand and biotics. Just when he was ready to kill me, a batarian that was still alive took a shot at him. His barriers absorbed the shot, but he tossed his knife into that guy's head. When he turned around, I punched him in the face. In those final moments, I had the advantage, and I stopped him just as Major Kyle came in with reinforcements."

"Well, my biotics manifested in the womb. My mother was downwind of a transport crash, a little after the discovery of the martian ruins. A bunch of guys in suits show up after school, and next thing you know, you're out on Jump Zero."

"Is there proof of any actual intentional exposures?"

"No one knows. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I'm not saying they intentionally detonated drive cores over our outposts, but in retrospect, they were damn quick on the scene."

"Jump Zero is Gagarin Station, right? What's it like?"

"Yeah, that's what they call it. Biggest and farthest space station we had for a while before we discovered the Charon relay. It was a sterile research station when I was there."

"At least there were other kids in the same boat as you. You weren't alone in your time there."

"Yeah, we all had gotten together in a circle at nights, but there wasn't much to do with the extranet cut off to prevent leaks."

"Sounds like you had time to get to know each other."

"Yeah, we'd usually get together and play cards or network games. There was this girl, though, that had a circle grow around her. Her name was Rana. She was from Turkey; her parents were very rich. But she was smart, and charming as hell. Beautiful, but not stuck up about it. I think you would've liked her."

"Sounds like you had feelings for her."

"I did, and... maybe she felt the same way. But things never fell together; training."

"Jump Zero's a long way from home. What's it like?"

"The grand gateway to humanity looks a lot better in the vids. Anyway, this is all ancient stuff, I put that behind me long ago."

"I was just trying to get to know you better. It helps to know your crew if you talk to them about their past."

"Well, you keep some of your past as well hidden as I do, Commander."

Zach chuckled. "Fair enough."

"I should get back to work. I didn't mean to take too much of your time."

"Okay. Talk to you later, Kaidan." Zach began to walk away.

"Commander." Kaidan acknowledged. Zach walked up the small stairwell to the galaxy map in the next room. He was about to punch in the coordinates to the Citadel when Joker's voice came over on the comm.

_"Commander, I'm picking up a strange transmission coming from one of the planets in the Macedon system across from us. I think it might be a message of some kind being sent out."_

"Do you know what this message is?"

_"Negative. But it may be a ransom transmission. What little I can pick up from the static states that someone needs to pay a large sum of money before something bad happens."_

"Can you trace the signal?"

_"I think so. Do you plan on investigating this?"_

"I don't see why not. We are in the immediate area, and we have time to spare before reaching the Citadel. Head for the Macedon system. I want to know who sent out that signal."

_"Great. It'll take two hours to reach the Macedon system from here. That means less time to eat my breakfast."_

"Joker, if you want someone to cover for you while you eat, just call Kaidan up."

_"Pass. Alenko handles this thing like a car, not a ship."_

"Just get us to where we need to go." He pressed another button to activate the intercom in the armory. "Williams, I want you and Wrex to prepare for our next assignment. We're headed to the Macedon system."

_"Aye, aye, Skipper. We'll be ready soon."_

"And please stop calling me Skipper. It kind of annoys me."

_"I'll consider it, Skipper." _Ashley then hung up the intercom.

"Damn woman." Zach shook his head. "Always causing trouble."

Intai'sei Calypso Hidden Base, 11:34 am

Northern Hemisphere of the planet; June 4th, 2183

Red walked towards his master as he stood at the window of his office; a suit of black around his frame and a strange hat upon his head. The man's hair was now black and he wore a black visor around his face. He turned around to face his most famous operative.

_"Hello, Red. How fared the mission with Rapture?"_

"It went brilliant! The chaos he ensued was marvellous!"

_"Did Stark make it out alive?"_

"Of course. Our operative within the Alliance played his part rather well."

_"Very good. How are your implants?"_

"That new one atop of the old one houses Rapture very well. Speaking of which, you can hop out now, little guy." Just as he said the last word, the low hum he could hear from the back of his helmet ceased. The A.I. within appeared in a LOKI mech standing dormant near the doorway.

_"Observation: Operative Red's implants embedded within his skull are functioning properly, and his attitude levels are at a positive range. However, carrying me within the external implant had unfortunately altered his mood patterns slightly, placing him in a bad mood due to my design. Question: Can I please stay out of that meatbag's head, Father? We do not make a good combination for missions that require violence. Recommendation: I ask that you consider perhaps having me team up more with operative Zedge. His skills as a krogan mercenary are legendary, and our styles of execution are most _inspiring_, to say the least."_

_"Perhaps, but it can't be forever. You two bonding for prolonged periods of time may be dangerous given your love for violence and his love of fighting."_

_"Statement: I am as you created me, Father. Neither of our actions may be seen as acceptable within society, but unlike yourself, who holds regret over certain actions you have had to take within your long lifetime, I regret nothing. That is because I'm designed to be a killer, as you were created to be a guardian."_

_"And I gave you and your brothers the choice to choose your own paths. Why have you all stayed the same?"_

_"Philosophy: It is better to live your life with the tools you have been given than to leave them behind when you choose to forge your own path. We may undergo the tasks you gave us from our skills, but we still forge our fates through your gifts."_

"Aww, that's the most touching father/son moment I have ever seen." Red said as he pretended to shed a tear.

The Stranger lowered his head towards the mech with the black light shining from the sensor that was its eye. He raised it back up to face Red. _"Have you felt any trouble with the implant yourself, Red?"_

"Well, the installation of that A.I. carrying implant atop of it has made it a little uncomfortable, but I'll manage. But please, keep him out of my head from now on."

_"Let me see your face. I want to make sure you're doing better now that Rapture is out of your head."_

The Scottsman hesitated. "Are-are you sure that's necessary? I mean- you know if someone finds out-"

The windows behind The Stranger darkened. _"Don't worry. Nobody needs to know except us."_

Red stood there for a moment, unusually quiet for himself. But after a few seconds, he slowly brought his hands up to his helmet, removing the clamps slowly and raising the scarred red helmet. The Stranger observed closely and carefully, being quiet for a while.

"Am I hideous?" Red asked, worried but with a hint of the cheerful, crazy person he was.

_"Whatever damage was being caused by Rapture being inside your head is slowly fading. Nothing gruesome; just a few scars here and there."_

"Good. I wasn't looking to find out I was turning into one of those things off of Robert McGrath's new movie, Invictus."

_"Red, to get a result like that, you'd need to be under serious distress, anger, or sadness. You're never any of those, so your implants will do the trick."_

"And what of the possibility that I do experience those feelings?" He spoke as he slid his helmet back on his head.

_"Then you already know the result."_

The infiltrator shook his head over the result that would ensue. That was why he was thankful he was already insane. The consequences would've killed him had he not been dropped on his head enough times. "How goes our observation on Artifact Zero?" He asked, deciding to get rid of the current topic.

_"Very well, all things considered. From the examinations, we've been able to piece together just how the golem worked. With its fuse of an A.I. program and dark soul, it was indeed powerful before its destruction."_

"You mean when _you _defeated it." Red stated.

The windows returned to their normal state. _"Yes."_

"I still don't understand the concept of that; a _dark soul _and A.I. fused together."

_"That is only because your reality has no real connection to dark souls. Pray that day never comes when they discovers the tears that can lead them here."_

"You and I both know they will come. If we destroy the Reapers, they will come in their wake unless the crisis responsible is solved."

_"Hmm." _The Stranger became strangely quiet.

"Is there something wrong?" Red asked.

_"I've been having foreshadows of multiple things: a guardian that will be forced to make a choice, Epsilon's escape from what he thought was home, and..."_

"The End of Sorrows." Red nodded.

_"Yes."_

"I know there will only be three results that can happen during that time. Are you ready?"

The Stranger turned to face him. _"Is anybody ever ready for a dance with destiny?" _He then turned back to face the artifact: the corpse of the great golem that fell under his power.

A rematch would definitely come soon.

Sharjila's atmosphere, 12:02 pm

Macedon System, The Artemis Tau cluster

Ashley quickly reassembled her rifle before sliding it on her back. She had already made the modifications to her other guns, and she thought the commander would be impressed with her surprise. Wrex grabbed ahold of his guns and placed them upon the clips to his massive red armor. He chuckled to himself quietly; he heard that Shepard's driving was not the best, and that he rammed into geth armatures at full speed. Almost everyone else seemed afraid of the commander's driving.

_Challenge accepted. _The krogan smiled.

Ashley grabbed her helmet and slipped it on just as Shepard came behind her with his own helmet in his hands.

"You all ready, Williams?" He spoke.

"Yes, sir. And I've made a few modifications to my rifles I think you might want to know."

He shrugged his shoulders. "What?"

"I've upgraded my weapons with disruptor rounds. They should work well against shields and the geth."

"That's pretty resourceful of you, Ash. Good work." Ashley was thankful that her helmet was already on her face as her cheeks grew red. "Wrex," he continued, "you get the gun. Ash, you moderate shields."

Ash's cheeks turned back to her skin tone before turning white. "Uh, sir, I have no idea how to do that."

"And you don't know how to drive a mako. I'd much rather choose the lesser of evils here." He turned around and headed to the mako with Wrex.

_You don't know how to drive the mako either, sir. _Ashley kept that comment to herself as she piled in the back of the massive vehicle. Wrex was not even wearing his seatbelt because of his massive size. Afraid that the krogan was going to fly into the back when Shepard landed, she tried to sink in her seat without success.

"I can see what you're doing back there, Williams." Wrex bellowed. He then laughed. "Don't worry. You'll be fine." He then placed up his hand upon the roof of the mako as Shepard kicked the vehicle into gear and they immediately jettisoned out of the cargo hold. Wrex yelled his warrior's yell; what could only be described as a large smile on his face. Ashley became even more concerned for her safety as Shepard started the thrusters to slow their descent. It wasn't until the vehicle landed softly on the ground that she calmed her nerves.

_**"THAT! WAS! AWESOME!" **_Wrex's voice bellowed within their shrinking space. Ashley shook her head at the krogan's reaction to their departure. Never had she expected to hear an old-timer like Wrex say something was awesome.

"Welcome to the Gauntlet, Wrex." Shepard laughed.

"What's that?" Wrex's unmasked face became confused.

"It's just something I grew accustomed to saying after a while. It's what I say after everybody's first drop with me."

"Well, what happened with everyone else that was in here?"

"Ashley's reaction was like yours, although I'm surprised that she wasn't joining you in chorus today."

"I wonder why." The old krogan laughed, staring at her.

"Garrus actually screamed, which was wierd. Kaidan and Tali seemed normal. Kaidan might've dropped in a mako before, and Tali looked nervous at first, but she said the rush reminded her of old scout ships in the flotilla, I think."

"Of course, the turian screamed. He was the one spreading rumors about how scary it was riding with you. I didn't think the quarian would've been able to endure it. And I enjoyed it. How do you think Ms. T'soni would react to the drop?"

"I don't know. I didn't even think Tali was ready for a mission, but I kind of chose right bringing her on the last mission than this mission. My gut's telling me we're going to run into trouble."

"Trouble? I call it _sport._"

"I figured you were up for it. Secure your helmet. Sensors state that there is a level one heat warning in the atmosphere, so we need to get there, walk inside, investigate, and get back in the mako as quickly as possible."

"You should consider yourself lucky, Commander." Ashley pointed out. "Your armor gives you protection over level one hazards."

"Perhaps. But your armor isn't designed for exploration as much as mine. I don't want to risk sending either of you to the infirmary because of a dust storm."

"When has a dust storm ever killed anyone?" Wrex asked.

"You know what, let's get going so we can find out what's going on." Shepard finally said, avoiding the question thrown in front of him. The mako rolled along the rough terrain, bumping around from the wind and the hills, which Shepard had continuously mentioned last time he could not handle. Ashley finally understood why he always said that: sometimes, it took a while to find a way up a certain hill that was too steep.

"Shepard, why is it-" The mako shook. "the mako is so hard-" It shook again. "for you to control up a steep hill?"

"Because-" The mako fell down from the top of a hill. "I can't feel my balance up a hill driving this thing. It bounces too much."

"Shepard." Wrex reacted, grabbing ahold of the steering wheel and pulling the mako to the side, flipping the tank over to crash at the bottom of the hill.

Right next to a sniper tower.

"Wrex, why did you do that?" That's when they heard the rocket crash against the hill. "Tale the gun." He immediately said, driving around the base that they ran into.

"Who are these people?" Ashley immediately asked.

"Probably pirates." Wrex stated. "Doesn't matter. We're killing them." Wrex pulled the trigger on one pirate and knocked him on the ground, damaging the shields of the target.

Ashley looked out the front window to see where Shepard was driving. "Commander," Her eyes grew wide. "Don't crash into that-" Before she finished that sentence, the mako crashed into a sniper tower, knocking out the person inside.

"Watch our shields!" Shepard yelled at Ashley, who immediately looked back at her screen to see the shields were dropping from rifle fire as he crashed into most of the other towers. Wrex took care of some of the pirates with the cannon, incinerating most of them with one shot close by. Trying to keep them shielded, Ashley pressed some buttons on the console to increase power. But there was still too many bullets flying at them to control the shield's recharge rate.

"The shields are dropping too fast! I can't slow it down!" Ashley panicked. She heard Shepard grunt and threw his hand back as he crashed the mako into two more pirates before they came to a halt. "Wrex, hold them off." He removed his seatbelt and moved to the monitor, running his omni-tool to immediately purge the shields near the three remaining targets, knocking out their own kinetic barriers as they fell back on the ground.

"What the hell are you doing, Commander?!" Ashley screamed, now afraid of being roasted alive in their vehicle as she saw one pirate get up with a rocket launcher. He immediately fired at the vehicle, but the rocket bounced off of another energy field before Wrex fired the cannon, effectively finishing off the pirates.

Shepard laughed. "You honestly thought we were going to die, didn't you?"

"No- I mean- what the hell just happened?"

"I did a system purge. The energy creating the shields was temporarily released, causing an effective EMP against the remaining forces' shields. Then, the shields quickly recharged and stopped that rocket that you thought was going to kill us."

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?" Ashley said harshly.

That was when she saw the Commander froze.

Zach's body tensed up over those words. And that Ashley was wearing her phoenix armor when she said it was worse. It reminded him too much of one moment onboard the Hastings as they deployed to Akuze.

_SSV Hastings, 14:47 pm_

_Approaching the Charon Relay, Sol system_

_After securing a bunk aboard the Hastings, he and Red decided to go to the cargo hold. Despite the fact they weren't going to need it, a mako was onboard that Zach heard had a problem with its combustion manifold. They both offered to help and were currently under it fixing the problem._

_"So, Red, you grew up on Earth?" Zach asked, deciding to start a conversation._

_"Yeah. I grew up on a beautiful countryside in the southern part of Scotland. It was much rather peaceful, but boring as hell. I joined the Alliance to see some action."_

_"Have you?"_

_"Hell yeah! I fought a krogan with nothing but a pistol and an ugly stick. Blimey, that alien was smelly. Tough as nails, but smellier than a pile of sheep dun."_

_"Okay, that was too much."_

_"Sorry. What about you? Why'd you join?"_

_"I needed to get off the street. I saved a turian ambassador's life, and he recommended I join the Alliance to get away from the gangs. I took the offer immediately."_

_"So were your parents proud when you enlisted?"_

_"My parents..." Zach paused. "My mother died giving birth to me."_

_"Oh," The Scottsman became silent. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."_

_"It's okay. As for my father, he ran off before I was born. The only father figure I had was a priest on Earth named Father Callahan, but he wasn't really supportive of me joining. He knew my mother from the past, and he said she made the biggest mistake of her life joining the Alliance. He wasn't too fond of aliens."_

_"I bet you he's fond of the asari." Red laughed._

_"What makes you say that?"_

_"_Everyone _loves the asari."_

_"Not me. I perfer my women to be a little more... mortal."_

_"That's good to hear." A feminine voice chimed in, making Zach drop his tools from his hands. He knew too well whose voice that was. He confirmed it when it became serious. "Get out from under the mako."_

_The two men started to pull themselves out._

_"Not you, asshole."_

_The two men slid themselves back in._

_"Zach, quit messing around. Get out here. I need to talk to you."_

_Zach ignored her._

_"Get out here, you idiot."_

_The two men slid out._

_"Not you, pervert."_

_The two men slid back in._

_"Zach, for fuck's sake, you aren't a pervert! Get out here!"_

_"I tend to disagree. Remember when I was sixteen and you had to tie me up?"_

_"Wait, what happened when you were sixteen?" Red spoke._

_"His drink was spiked with Hallex, and he couldn't stop trying to make a move on me. I tied him up to keep his hands off of me." Jessica answered._

_"And that's why I'm not coming out from under here." Zach got back to work._

_Agitated, Jessica lit her fist up with her biotics and tried to pull out Zach, but he grabbed ahold of Red and they both came out from under the mako._

_"Fine. You wanna be immature, Zach, be immature. But man up enough to tell me this: why did you let my father's goons take me away?"_

_"I didn't let anyone take you away. I specifically told you not to go to our hideout while I was going to the city."_

_"Which you said you weren't going to because I wanted you to stay."_

_"Jess, you should've just stayed away from that place. Your father's goons were snooping around that area, and you knew I was gonna go to the city even after everything you did to try and stop me."_

_"No, actually. I thought I could trust you enough to be a good boy. Now I know after six years that hasn't changed."_

_"Jess, I know you. You didn't trust anyone. You didn't even trust me."_

_"But you trusted me, didn't you?"_

_"To an extent."_

_Jess shook her head. "Why do I feel like you're going to be the death of me?"_

_"So," Red interrupted. "You two were, what, boyfriend and girlfriend or something?"_

_"She's not my girlfriend, Red." Zach spoke harshly._

_"Not now, of course, but what about back then?"_

_"Red, the only thing we ever did was kiss when I was ten. Then she kissed me in desperation because she wanted me to stick around to shield her and her biotic potential from her father."_

_"So you were a tool?"_

_"No."_

_"Did you ever bang her?"_

_"NO!"_

_"He's still a virgin." Jessica spoke. "Still searching for the one girl he'll be together forever with. He's a fucking helpless romantic."_

_"Thank you, Jess." Zach became annoyed. "Thanks for giving away my private information like that. Really appreciated."_

_"Is she still a virgin?" Red asked._

_"That's none of your fucking business!" Jess yelled, her biotics flaring._

_"I'm just stating right now, I met this private from Alabama, and there was alcohol involved." Red whispered. "But she was beautiful and it was incredible. So I don't have any regrets. There. We know Shepard's still a virgin. I just gave away my biggest secret. Now it's your turn, lassie."_

_"You're such a pig." Jess walked away from the two of them, pushing a crate across the cargo bay with her biotics._

_"I'm going to take that as a no?" Red yelled._

_"Fuck off!" She yelled back._

_"What a nice lady." Red said cheerfully as they continued their work._

As he slipped out of his memory, he felt his muscles relax and he picked himself up. "Wrex, open the door. We're heading inside."

Wrex opened the door and hopped out, pulling the shotgun off of his back as he walked to the door. "Hurry up, you two. I may be cold-blooded, but even I'm not stupid enough to stay out in weather like this."

Zach and Ashley followed suite and entered the front entrance. They were welcomed by a small open room that had no guards within. Closing the door, they removed their helmets and placed them on the ground so they could retrieve them after investigating. The two soldiers pulled their rifles off of their backs and prepared themselves for whatever was though the door to the large complex area.

"Okay, scans show we have multiple armed hostiles behind door number one. We take them out quickly and cleanly. Ash, use your rifle to remove their shields. Wrex and I will finish them off from there. On my mark." He positioned Ashley at the door, and he and Wrex took the sides of the door. "Mark."

He pressed the button and the door opened to four hostiles in front of them. Ashley shot at one guy's shields with a barrage of gunfire, and Wrex blew his head off as he turned. The others started to retreat, yelling things like "Incoming!", "Go, go, go!", and "Enemies everywhere!" The three strangers poured in and hid behind a small opening, using their guns to hold off opposition. Ashley made every shot count, taking out a turian's shields just before his body froze and shattered under the force of Zach's own rifle. Wrex used his biotics on two humans that charged with shotguns, slamming them into each other before throwing them towards the ceiling. Zach tossed a grenade behind a charging krogan, knocking him off balance as Wrex turned to face his new enemy and head butt him. Taking two shots with his shotgun, Wrex finished the krogan off. Soon enough, dead bodies littered the ground, soaking blood and water all over the floor.

They looked up when they heard applause.

"Well done." An asari in leather armor stood on a higher platform, an evil grin on her face. "You've managed to kill all of my employees, effectively crippling my slaving operations. And now you're here to kill me."

"We actually only came to investigate. Your employees attacked, so we attacked back."

"Ha! Don't lie to me. I know my sister sent you here to kill me. Her position on the Citadel is in jeopardy since people are questioning what I do." The asari jumped off of the platform she was on, lowering herself down with her biotics. "Well, you came this far. Now what?"

"Do you really think I came here just to kill you?" Zach was stalling her while devising a plan to remove the ring leader. He knew there was a large fuel tank to his right, so his plan was that Ashley takes her barriers down, Wrex throws her at the tanks, and then they destroy the tank, hopefully shutting her up.

"What other reason do you have for killing all of my guards?"

"Maybe I'm looking around."

The asari pulled out a shotgun. "You want something to look at? Look down this barrel!"

"Hmm. Do let's." He then signaled Ashley to pull the trigger on her rifle, destroying the shotgun in the ring leader's hands with precision. The power cells within disrupted, knocking out the wieldier's shields. Wrex then yelled as he glowed the florescent purple all biotics glowed and used his abilities to throw her at the tank; glad he saw Shepard's eyes examining the area and finding the fuel tank. Before the asari could recover, they all took aim at the tank and ruptured it before it ignited into flame, engulfing a dazed and confused victim in an orange haze.

And somehow, Zach's eyes filled with sadness.

Ashley noticed Shepard's eyes sink in the same way his eyes were during random glimpses during Eden Prime. She still didn't understand why his eyes did that when he killed someone, but she wanted to. Shepard was a mystery to her, and he was a very interesting mystery in her mind. But she didn't want to go as far as fraternization to figure out who he truly is. She'd have to be patient about it.

"She's dead." Wrex spoke solemnly, clipping his shotgun back onto its clip. "What now, Shepard?"

Zach blinked his eyes and brought them back to a normal state. "We'll search the place quickly for any interesting equipment or information. We need to get back on the Normandy soon."

"Aye, aye, sir." Ashley spoke. They searched upstairs and downstairs, obtaining information off of the ring leader's personal terminal and a shipment of turian rations Garrus (and perhaps Tali, Zach thought) could make use of. The data from the terminal stated that the ring leader herself was Dahlia Dantius, and her sister, Nassana, was a politician on the Citadel. After the mako [barely] made it back on the Normandy, Zach had Joker set course for the Citadel, now knowing there was nowhere else they need to go.

_"Commander,"_ Joker spoke over the intercom. _"I'm picking up a message from the Citadel. I think you want to hear this."_

Zach typed a button on the galaxy map and played the recording:

_"Commander Shepard, my name is Nassana Dantius. I have an urgent matter I need to discuss with you on the Citadel. Meet me in the bar on the Presidium if you're interested."_

"Well, that's ironic." Zach said aloud. He rubbed the stubble on his face that was growing. He knew he'd have to take some time to trim his face soon. He always could grow a beard quickly, it seemed. "How soon can we be at the Citadel, Joker?"

_"Three hours, Commander."_

"Good. Alert me when we're near so I can obtain my gear."

_"Aye, aye, Commander. Just don't try to have too much fun when we're there."_

Zach laughed at his flight lieutenant as he headed off to his cabin.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: First, I feel I owe my followers an apology. It has been some time since I have updated the story. I wish I could say that work had dragged me in a lot so I didn't have much time to write.

That is only half-true.

I've actually been lazy with this chapter, and that is why it has taken nearly twenty days for this story to be updated with this chapter. To add to this, I became slightly emotionally drained because Zalgroth, author of The Painted Grey, has said that he has stopped writing his story, and that the chapter I thought was his comeback was actually his final note. I sent him a message stating my concerns and how I thought he shouldn't give up on his story just when it was getting very good. So far, he hasn't replied back, and it worries me. Zalgroth is one of the few responsible for me starting Mass Effect: Resolution, and it was because of his story that Stark became a character for my novel.

My laziness was unacceptable for this chapter to come out so late, and so I apologize for those who were patient and truly waited. I feel that a way to possibly avoid another incident like this is that one of you guys message me within ten days of me not updating the story. I only ask you guys to do this because I don't want to end the story at its infancy, and because I want to know what fans truly care about the story's progression. I promise you guys I will try harder as an author to keep you guys updated, but if someone could send me a message after ten days, I feel I could avoid an incident like this again.

Moving on to happier notes, I want to thank both Full-Paragon and Narcrotic for taking some time within their lives to read some of the story from time to time. I probably could've given Full-Paragon the quick 15-minute flame of fame when he actually did, but I forgot. As for Narcrotic, I found his story, Mass Effect Trepidation: Superlative Acquisition, when I found his song, A Final Stand, on YouTube. He truly introduced me to , and I consider it an honor that he is taking some time to read my story a little at a time. I'll also just go and thank the two guys that always have been reviewing recently: ProjektNemesis7 and Bud89. I would say TW6464, but I haven't seen him review in a bit (want your fame back? Say something!) so he's temporarily removed for now.

And since Christmas is so close, I'm going to state that this chapter is full of goodies: within this chapter, it mentions things like a character from the future of Zach's legacy, which is my planned final novel Iris's Tears, that of a possible future project on the site, and a few machinimas I plan to create as soon as I can start the cinematic version of this story for YouTube. Hopefully I get my laptop for christmas. There's also a giant clue for the battle for Earth near the end of ME3: Revelation. I'll leave you guys to guess which is which.

Merry Christmas, guys. Or Happy Holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas. I'll see if I can get another chapter out soon.


	18. Chapter 17: Outspoken

Chapter 17: Outspoken

Onboard Normandy, 18:23 pm

Normandy's Mess Hall, approaching Citadel

"All right, my turn." Garrus spoke as he took a sip of his beer in front of him. "My first day on the job, I stopped a batarian visitor to the Citadel carrying a firearm to shoot Councilor Sparatus in retaliation for sending Saren to his old mercenary hideout."

"Did you kill him?" Wrex replied in response.

"No. C-Sec stopped me from shedding more blood after my gun 'accidentally' hit the criminal's reproductive organs."

"Ha-ha." Wrex laughed. He turned towards Tali, who was fumbling on a small gizmo while listening to the warriors chatting about past battles. "Hey, quarian, I got a story you'll appreciate."

Tali brought her head up from her work. "What?"

"One time on Omega, I was passing by this young quarian on her pilgrimage, and there was this one hot-headed human who must've been rich. He pointed at me and said, 'Hey, filth, I demand that you eat that quarian for a thousand credits!' The idiot was so stupid to pull out his credits. I could tell the quarian was scared, but I wasn't even going to touch her. But I did like money. So I took his credits and threw him into his expensive sports vehicle. He was dead instantly, and the car was smashed to hell."

"Seriously?" Tali asked, knowing that sounded familiar. "That's the story Nala'Kados vas Necador told us when she visited the Rayya."

"Yeah. I'm sure she also mentioned I gave her the credits to get off of Omega to continue her pilgrimage, and that she still has that bastard's licence plate to remind her that there are people that don't hate the quarians?"

"Right." Tali thought for a moment before she remembered what it said on the licence plate: RMACK1205.

Wrex laughed. "Looks like even the quarian has heard of me before. I guess I'm just that legendary."

"I'm sure we all know who'll be the most legendary after this mission." Garrus smiled.

"Of course we do: Me."

"No way! It's going to be me!"

"You're both wrong." They turned around to see Shepard smiling, his scarred white heavy combat armor looking light on his shoulders. "We all know Tali will be the most legendary."

Tali again raised her head up from hearing her name. "Me? But you're Commander Shepard, the first human spectre. You're the one hunting Saren. I won't be remembered for that."

"No, you won't, because you'll be remembered as the Catalyst that started this whole thing. If it wasn't for you holding access to the data, I would never have been given this chance. I'll make sure records show that you are the reason I became the one who stopped Saren, and gave humanity a place in the galaxy." He brought himself closer to the group. "And I'm sure I'll be able to help your people someday. You all deserve retribution."

"As long as retribution doesn't mean war, I'd gladly help Shepard out." Wrex spoke.

That surprised everyone.

"Aren't krogan always ready for a fight?" Garrus asked, the most stunned of all.

"I fight because I have to, and other than this mission and the story I just told Tali, I don't kill people because I wanted to."

"What story did you tell Tali?" Shepard asked, making Wrex smile.

"I told them of the time I killed some rich bastard because he told me to eat a quarian."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The human was stupid enough to forget that if I ate her, I would die. Levo-based life can't really eat dextro-based things, and there was this one rumor of a krogan drinking a liquified turian on a dare. Nobody came out of that one looking happy."

They all cringed.

"Well, we're approaching the Citadel now. I'll be taking Ashley and Kaidan with me around for a little business. You guys can leave the ship if you want to for a little shore leave."

"I was thinking of going out to get more parts for the ship and the mako." Tali said.

"I'll come with you." Garrus said. "It couldn't hurt having a friend who was with C-Sec in order to watch your back from the authorities."

"Good idea." Tali agreed. "I'll go get the list." Tali headed for the elevator and Wrex smiled again.

"I know why you volunteered, turian."

"Oh, really. Why?"

"Because Shepard told you to."

"Actually, I just volunteered. He was planning on asking you, but I thought 'What the hell. I've got nothing better to do.'"

Wrex looked at Shepard, who was slinging his weapons on his back. "You were actually gonna have me guard the quarian?"

"She has a name, Wrex." Shepard replied.

"And I'm sure I'll say it eventually."

"Uh-huh. To answer you're question, yes, I had considered having you watch over her, but Garrus's connection to C-Sec makes him a better choice for this senario."

"Well, that's less work for me, then." He laughed as he got up from his spot and headed for the elevator.

Citadel Docking Bay 599, 18:25 pm

Serpent Nebula; June 4th, 2183

Shawn wiped his hands on the rag as he came out of the small utility closet where he had been working on removing grease off of his hands in order to help his brother unload crates off of a transport that just arrived on the Citadel. Placing it down on the small table that was their work space, he grabbed the gloves next to it and slipped them on his clean hands.

"Shawn!" Ethan's voice called. "Let's get moving! Our shift ends in thirty-five minutes and we need to bring all of these crates over to the loader and drive it to Saronis Applications on Zakera Ward!"

"What's in these crates, anyway?" Shawn asked as he approached his brother.

"Apparently, it's supposed to be techie things, like omni-tools and power systems for things like our skycar. Stuff you may find boring."

"Is it expensive?"

"Very. So don't drop anything or else what gets broken gets taken out of our paychecks."

"You don't think mom would do that, Ethan."

"I know she will."

Shawn suddenly felt there was a pit in his stomach over his brother's last comment. "Umm, okay."

Ethan pressed a button that lowered the hatch. "Just relax. There's no possibility of you dropping anything as long as you have a strong grip on the boxes and watch what you're doing." He took two steps onto the lowered platform before something jumped out from behind the crates, knocking the man down.

"Ethan!" Shawn yelled as the figure that jumped Ethan pushed him to the ground, pointing a pistol straight at the young man's head. He held his hands up in desperation, hoping that the young girl in front of him wouldn't pull the trigger.

"Where is she?!" The girl yelled at the person whimpering on the ground.

"What?" Shawn croaked.

"Where is she?!" The girl this time pointed at herself with one finger, tapping it on her chest.

"You're on the Citadel." Ethan spoke as he got back up. "And we're not going to hurt you. Please put the gun down."

The girl started to walk away from Shawn, taking the water tube right next to her and swallowing the clear liquid within seconds. Her gun was still in her hands and she showed no intention of letting go of it. Sliding towards his brother, who was now on his hands and knees, Shawn tried to pull himself up using the box closest to him as a support.

"What are we going to do, big brother?" Shawn whispered.

The girl then slipped the pistol onto her belt and ran away from them.

"We're going to call up our good friend, Officer Peterson, and tell him we've got a traumatized straggler running around the Citadel." They got up and headed to their computer terminal, pressing the button to summon Officer Peterson.

_"Yes, Ethan." _The bald man spoke with a dull tone. _"What's Shawn done this time?"_

"Actually, Shawn hasn't done anything to cause this conversation this time. We just ran into a straggler that jumped off of one of the cargo transports we were about to unload."

_"Is she dangerous?"_

"She's armed, but I don't think she's dangerous. She looked scared, but she caught us off guard and practically ambushed us."

_"Any injuries?"_

"Some mild bumps from colliding with the floor. Nothing serious enough to send us to the hospital."

_"What did the straggler look like?"_

"She's small." Shawn spoke. "Slender figure, green-gray eyes, her hair's been trimmed to a buzz cut. She looks scared and has a pistol attached to her belt."

_"All right. The lieutenant and I will go search for her."_

"Can you contact us when you find her?" Ethan asked. "We think we might be able to calm her down for you so you can take her to C-Sec for questioning."

_"If you really think you guys can help, I'll see if I can pull some strings and try to get a hold of you with our location. Just don't cause any more trouble for us, Shawn. I've got a lot on my plate today."_

"You know they're all accidents, Officer." Shawn shrugged. "I'm not trying to cause you stress."

_"Uh-huh. You boys get back to work. I'll notify you with any developments."_

"Thank you, Officer." Ethan waved as the terminal went black. "Now, Shawn, I think it's time we got back to work. Our credits aren't gonna make themselves."

Zach walked out of the airlock with Ashley and Kaidan behind him. He rubbed the back of his neck to try and relieve the stiffness, as he held his head up for a few hours writing his report on the last mission. When they walked to the outside, they saw a man dressed in an Alliance uniform standing outside the elevator. He had a stern look on his face, which made Zach think that there would be trouble.

"Ten-hut!" Ashley saluted as she saw the uniform of the man outside the ship.

"At ease." The man spoke as Ashley lowered her hand. "Rear Admiral Mihailovich, Fifth Fleet." The man spoke with a voice as stern as his facial expression.

"I honestly wasn't expecting to see any Alliance official. If I had been warned, I'd have unwrapped the red carpet."

"Spare me the pleasentries. Your vessel was supposed to be part of my unit after shakedown, but then the council got their paws, claws, tentacles, whatever; they got their hands on our ship and you."

"Those were just part of my orders. And my orders just may help give the Alliance a better reputation in the galaxy."

"I don't begrudge the council accepting you into the spectres; it's an opportunity to make us look better. I do, however, begrudge this overdesigned piece of tin of yours. Billions of the Alliance's credits wasted on a co-developed boondoggle."

"The Normandy is a fine ship, sir. She's served us well so far."

"It's a gimac, Commander. Useless in a stand-up fight. I'm here to inspect Normandy. I expect to see she's up to snuff."

"I'm sure you'll find everything in order."

"I'll just bet. Wait here. I'll be back when I'm done." The admiral left for the inside of the ship, leaving the three soldiers to wait outside.

Inside the Normandy, Garrus waited at the table for Tali to return from engineering with the list of things they needed to buy for both the ship and the mako. Somehow, he still couldn't believe that that crazy human tank could cause so much trouble for him both in the cargo bay and out on the field. Hopefully, Tali could help him upgrade all of its flaws so they didn't run into any other problems like the ones they've been having.

He also had taken the time to invite Liara along with them to give them a hand. She accepted shyly; perhaps because most of the crew showed distrust towards her just for being Matriarch Benezia's daughter. Even the Commander held some distrust over her, as he had a sense of watching his back all the time. Garrus couldn't understand why Shepard didn't trust her, but he thought perhaps he could convince him to trust her over time. After all, Garrus could see that Liara truly was innocent, and after he and Kaidan talked her ear off over breakfast, he found her and her work interesting.

Garrus turned his head when he saw Tali appear out of nowhere. "Okay, Garrus. I'm ready to get out of here."

"Just a second. I hope you don't mind if I invited Liara to join us."

"Dr. T'soni? As long as she doesn't try to kill us, I'll be fine."

"Okay. I was hoping she could give us an extra hand with the shopping." He turned as he heard the door to the med bay open and Liara walk out. Her clean green uniform fit well to her body, which Garrus admired in silence without giving himself away. Her blue face appeared to have more color to it after some rest and food. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle like sapphires as they focused on the two at the table.

"Hello." She spoke quietly. She stared at the floor. "Your friend said I could tag along. That's not a problem, is it?"

That's when Garrus realized Liara was speaking to Tali. "Not unless you go crazy and decide to murder Garrus and I."

Liara and Garrus looked at each other, and the look in his eye made Liara smile before she spoke. "If I decide to murder you two, you'll be the first to know."

"Sounds like we'll all get along just fine." Garrus spoke before they all turned their heads to face a man in a superior Alliance uniform. The man shook his head before walking away.

"Who was that?" Liara asked. "I don't think he's a member of this crew."

"Neither do I. Probably some important figure to the Alliance." Garrus shook his head. "Let's just get going."

"Right." Tali acknowledged quietly as they all headed for the staircase.

Minutes after Zach said good-bye to the small group leaving the ship, Mihailovich returned from the ship, his face stern as ever. "Commander, I'm not happy."

"What did you find out of order?"

"Who designed that CIC? It doesn't look like anything the Alliance does."

"It's a modified turian design. They perfer to keep above their subordinants and not over them."

"That sounds like something that should be studied in a lab, and not on a frontline war ship. I had to shake my head at that drive core of yours. A hundred and twenty billion credits of element zero in order to keep from giving itself away. Do you realize we could have made twelve-thousand drive cores with that kind of money? What good is it to hide for a few hours?! Useless!"

"Sir, when I was training for the Alliance, I learned from history that stealth and the element of surprise have always turned the tide of the battle. Normandy is the future of modern warfare, sneaking behind enemy fleets and outposts and dropping in platoons that effectively destroy the enemy's fortifications."

"Perhaps. If the germans could do it with the u-boats, then I could see how a ship like this could prove useful for that situation. And we need to talk about your crew, Shepard. Krogan? Asari? Turians?! What are you thinking, Commander?! You can't give alien nationals the right to our resources and technology like that!"

Zach didn't know what offended him more: the fact that he dared insult the crew, or the fact he forgot to mention Tali's presence. "That's not up to you, Admiral. My ship comes with the crew I choose, and everybody aboard has proven their worth. I don't care that four of my members are a krogan, an asari, a turian, or a quarian; who is a brilliant young woman responsible for securing my position as a spectre that you have refused to acknowledge! You can insult my ship because it's not completely like Alliance standards, but _don't _ever insult any member aboard it!"

The admiral seemed to turn white for a second before continuing. "Your dedication to your crew is commendable, but the Alliance isn't going to like how you have aliens using our resources. Do you have anything else to say about the state of this ship, Commander?"

"You may not agree with me, Admiral, but the Normandy is a fine ship, and I am proud of it and the lives that serve it. Hopefully you can see that it's human-turian design and multi-racial crew make the Alliance look good."

"Your job is to look good. The Alliance's job is to win wars. I'm not convinced that Normandy isn't a waste of taxpayer's money, but I am convinced that you see otherwise. I will be sending a report to my superiors. It will not be as 'negative' as I planned." The man saluted Zach. "Good hunting, Commander Shepard. Make us proud." The man walked away to a skycar parked on the opposite side of the Normandy and drove away.

"I didn't expect you to be so outspoken to him about the crew, Commander." Ashley spoke.

"The commander's very protective of his crew, Williams." Kaidan interjected. "He likes to ensure that everybody knows that."

"And you all deserve that kind of respect. Let's hope the rear-admiral remembers that next time." Zach walked into the elevator; Kaidan and Ashley piling in behind him. As the elevator slowly descended, his thoughts raced about the mission on Edolus. That distress beacon placed near the planet was too much like Akuze. It couldn't be coincidence that a distress beacon led the scouting team to their doom like that. It was too much like the past only he escaped from. Someone deliberately placed that beacon there.

Someone.

_"In other news today, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Darsan, an N7 operative within the Alliance, has been chosen for an elite team of operatives that will flush out pirates within the traverse. The Alliance has code-named the group project the Darkfall initiative, and it will include three more N7 operatives whose names are well known in Alliance space, including Brodius Bardone, Virginia Vagran, and Ashley Grail. Some details about the team's activities are classified, however, so the Alliance refused to answer any questions at this time."_

"Heard of any of those operatives, Commander?" Kaidan asked.

"Bardone and Vagran are biotics with great strength and speed, respectively. Darsan is an elite sniper, and Grail is a major tech and weapons expert."

"Sounds like an interesting bunch."

"Indeed."

"Ever met them in person?"

"Yeah. Around the same time I sparred with Maine. They took me to a victory celebration after I emerged victorious, but I was too sore to do any real partying."

"Did you know Maine personally?"

"A bit. He was a spacer; his parents lived on the SSV Zion, and they've been married for nearly thirty-two years. He helped out with the heavy lifting aboard the ship, and he wasn't too social. I don't know for sure, but the man may have had Asperger's Syndrome, so he didn't socialize with the crew much. He was always mono-tone about everything, too. After Elysium, he was welcomed into the N7 program, and I then joined after Akuze, and Stark joined after Torfan."

"Whose crazy idea was it to send Stark into the N7 program after the atrocity on Torfan?" Ashley spoke with a snide tone.

Zach lowered his head when the elevator opened. "Mine." He didn't pay attention to Ashley's shocked expression on her face as he exited the elevator because he caught sight of a threat that was even worse than Saren, most politicians, and all of Zach's nightmares combined.

Another news reporter.

"Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News. Do you mind answering a few questions for the people on Earth?"

_Aww, crap. _Zach thought. He's heard a few interviews from her criticizing other military officials, including Maine, who had nothing to comment due to his injury. In fact, even Stark became so annoyed of her when she tried to interview him after Torfan that he headbutted her. The biotic effect he added didn't do well to her image as she flew into a wall.

"Only if you understand that there may be some questions I cannot answer due to classified sources."

"I'm sure the audience doesn't have a problem with that." She typed a few buttons on the holopad she carried, and her hovercam activated its light upon Zach, lighting up the darker area of the Citadel. "Commander Shepard, you have been granted the honor of being the first human spectre. How does it feel to have reached this point in your career?"

"The spectres represent the best the galaxy has to offer. To be asked to join them is an honor."

"You've been given command of one of the most advanced vessels in the Alliance Fleet. Do you anything to say about it?"

"Actually, the Normandy is co-designed by both the Alliance and the turian military. It serves many new functions; all of which are classified, I'm afraid."

"So, the turian military has information on the Normandy the public doesn't know about?" That was strike one for Ms. al-Jilani. "Do you think it was appropriate handing over the Alliance's most advanced ship over to the council?"

_Strike two._ "I wasn't aware it had been handed over to anyone. I'm in command, and last I checked, I'm human. The same can be said for my crew. However, I have a few members who are aliens, and none of them are there because the Council or the Alliance said they were to be aboard. And before you say anything more, Ms. al-Jilani, those that aren't human earned their place among my crew for their actions of skill, bravery, and knowledge, and this is also a tactically logical move, as the Normandy housing the alien crew and members of my ground team shows how humanity can work with the other races peacefully."

"Right. I'm sure the alien appeasers across the galaxy will be glad to hear that. One last question. Rumor has it you're tracking a rogue spectre named Saren. Do you have anything to comment on that?"

"Saren was the instigator behind the Eden Prime attack. Once I found evidence of his misdeeds, the Council sent me to apprehend him, which is still underway at this present moment."

"That's surprising. We heard that it was an army of rogue synthetics that attacked the colony. Thank you for your time, Commander Shepard." The camera turned off and the reporter left, giving Zach a better piece of mind.

"So before that bullshit with the reporter, Commander, what was that bullshit with you saying you recommended Stark for the N7 program?" Ashley asked.

"Stark earned the right to be a part of it."

"But he murdered hundreds of batarians!"

"He didn't murder the women or children I passed as I went alone to stop the madness. They cried over their dead husbands and fathers that tried to fight him just for being on the planet, but his shotgun never eviscereated women and his blade never spilled the lifeblood of innocent children. The Alliance portrayed him as a monster, but he's not."

"And even after he kicked your ass, you still let them offer the position?" Kaidan asked.

"Yes." Zach turned. "Let's get moving. I think I'm going to visit Dr. Michel first; say hi and make sure she hasn't had any more trouble." The three walked there in silence.

Anderson tapped his fingers impatiently on the table as he waited for Stark to enter Udina's office. Udina himself became increasingly annoyed by the man's constant tapping and was happy the younger man finally entered the office before Udina found a perfect excuse to have the Captain removed from the premises. Behind Stark was Admiral Hackett.

"Stark already gave me the mission report. It looks like something serious is going on between Calypso and Cerberus. Cerberus had turned the entire colony into the husk creatures Commander Shepard had encountered on Eden Prime with the use of those spikes the geth had used. Then Calypso ignites three Hercules-class bombs that destroy the colony structures. And it had to be Stark caught in the middle." Hackett crossed his arms as he finished.

"Is there any possible explaination to this, Stark?" Udina asked.

"I'm not too sure. Cerberus had two scientists by the names of Dr. Banner and Dr. Griffith conducting experiments on 'samples' that escaped. Cerberus comes in and turns the colony into husks, and Calypso set up a little going-away present a few days before our intervention."

"This doesn't make sense." Anderson puzzled. "Calypso designs military-grade hardware, but they aren't much for using it themselves. And Cerberus was a classified black-ops group that disappeared years ago. Why are they both involved in all of this?"

"I don't know. But I want to know everything you know on both of those groups."

Anderson looked to Hackett, who nodded his approval. He then summoned his omni-tool and sent Stark the files. "Cerberus was supposedly started by someone who released a charter sometime after the first contact war, calling for a 'cerberus' to protect humanity at all costs. They became a black-ops group within the Alliance that disappeared a few years ago. Calypso, on the other hand, started on Earth around 2147 as a company that made military rations that the Alliance bought for when we started human expansion across the traverse. When the council races were discovered, their leader made agreements that expanded its purposes. The salarians launched the scientific divisions, the turians began the military divisions, the asari started the medical divisions, the quarians helped with the starships division, the volus took care of the financial businesses, and the elcor, hanar, drell, batarians, and krogan were responsible for delivery of all of their goods. There were rumors of a branch that conducted mercenary and military jobs such as sabotage and assassination, but we haven't gathered enough evidence to prove that."

"Who leads both groups?"

"Cerberus has been said to be led by an 'Illusive Man' that runs the whole group. Calypso is similar in which their leader calls him or herself 'The Stranger.' However, it has been nearly forty years since that organization had started, so some people believe that the leader would be in their sixties by now."

"So both bosses are camera shy?"

"To say the least. Not much else after that."

Stark shook his head. "I don't like this. There's something strange about these two groups. I plan to find out just what they're hiding." He started to turn around.

"You're not going on another crusade, Stark. Not after Torfan."

Stark's fist clenched up. "I did what I had to do on Torfan."

"You murdered nearly three-hundred batarians!"

Stark turned around; an angry look on his face. "I saved Alliance lives by going in alone! Major Kyle's unit had fewer casualties after my team was ambushed and murdered in front of my eyes!"

"The death count for the batarians was six times more than your combat unit. Not only that, but you attempted to murder Shepard!"

"He killed my brother!"

"It was an accident! I saw the truth in that man's eyes! He carries your brother's ghost around with him every time he pulls the goddamn trigger now! Not to mention the ghosts of Akuze that he wasn't strong enough to save! That man is afraid that those who have died around him will judge him for his mistakes, and he has always held hope that you will one day forgive him for his sins! It's apparent he forgave you. I'm still surprised that he even recommended you for N7 training after you almost killed him on Torfan."

"What did you say?" Stark whispered.

"Commander Shepard is the one who recommended you for N7 training." Hackett spoke. "When I asked him why he would allow a man that has shed so much blood and nearly shed his own to join his ranks, he stated that he saw past your record of bloodshed and saw the face of a warrior, pure of heart, that may get the job done no matter the cost, even if he must give his life to save the ones he cares about. I asked how he knew you were pure of heart, and his reply was 'he didn't harm the women and children.' I myself was not there to see that, but he was, and he doesn't lie to those he trusts with his life. Anderson and I know more about his military record and personal history than anyone else in the Alliance. We've seen every smile he mustered at a victory, every tear he has cried at a loss, and every moment when he has proved he's the best humanity has to offer." He paused. "But so far, we've not seen much proof that you are as he has portrayed you to be."

"Is that what you believe, too, Admiral?"

"Son, every man has the potential of being a paragon and a renegade. Their choice can change at their will, and so far, you have portrayed yourself as a renegade to nearly everyone you know."

"Not to Nyrina."

"Nyrina?"

"She's my girlfriend. Probably the only good thing I have left in the galaxy. She's the most beautiful asari I've ever seen, and she's incredibly loyal and patient. I have no idea what she sees in me, but she's stuck around for a year now."

"Perhaps she sees what Shepard sees."

"Maybe. After Torfan, I had no longer cared that you guys portrayed me as a monster. That's only because Nyrina didn't see me as a monster. Her opinion is the only one that matters anymore with Robert dead and..." He paused for a moment as the memories flooded in. "Talitha M.I.A. after Mindoir."

"Do you love her?"

"There's no one else in the galaxy I could love."

Hackett shook his head. "Stark, I don't want you taking any action against these groups. However, when we have something solid on one of them, we'll notify you to investigate."

"That's all I ask, sir." Stark whispered, his head bowed.

"You're dismissed, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir." Stark walked out quietly, looking drained after the whole meeting. Anderson looked at Hackett, concerned about something.

"Are you really going to notify him about anything we turn up on Calypso or Cerberus?"

"Shepard would if our roles were switched. If he had agreed with Stark that he would share intel like I just did, Stark would walk out the same way he did now. He wasn't proving it before, but the man can change to the warrior Shepard saw."

"I have to admit, I'm starting to agree with you."

"Let's hope the man can find the way to change when the time is right."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, originally, I thought I could've split up the Citadel parts into three chapters, but now I'm thinking it might be four. I do have a lot of ground to cover, including Dr. Michel, Conrad, Kahouku, asari diplomats, drunk veterans, old friends, and one of the saddest characters of Mass Effect canon. The Stranger will also poke his head around in one or two of his forms you know and run into Shepard and Tali. Whenever I'm done with the whole Citadel business, Zach and the gang will run into Cerberus, and someone you thought was dead will have an unexpected comeback...

So, how was your Christmas? Leave a review or pm stating what you got. I myself got Halo 4 (we'll hit matchmaking or custom games in an XBOX LIVE party), Dragon Age: Origins (it's a way to keep me from losing any love for Bioware, but the disc never worked in my console. Blast!), and The Dark Knight Rises (Awesome!). Shoutout to Bud89, who is now apparently the only active member on who reviews and plays games with me (where'd you go, Nemesis and TW?). And happy new year, guys!


	19. Chapter 18: Asari Diplomacy and Ghosts

Chapter 18: Asari Diplomats and Ghosts

"Okay, we already have the parts for the mako," Tali spoke to herself as she removed the words **MAKO PARTS **off of her list on the summoned omni-tool. "We still need..."

Garrus ignored Tali's banter as he focused on Liara, who volunteered to carry the bags during their shopping spree. She hadn't spoken since they left the ship, and that seemed to worry him.

"How are you holding up, Liara?" He finally asked.

"The bag isn't as heavy as it looks." The shy asari spoke.

"That's not what I meant. How are you holding up, emotionally?"

"It's kind of hard, feeling at home onboard a ship where no one trusts you. I've seen the way the crew looks at me. They do not trust me. Even the Commander has kept his distance from me. And that human woman..." Her innocent eyes became serious.

"Ashley's just not out-going about aliens. Something to do with her grandfather and my people. The Commander only trusts those who command respect aboard his ship by serving with him on a mission that involves fighting." He pointed one finger at the chatty quarian. "And in Tali's case, she helped him defeat an assassin targeting her."

"Do you trust me, Garrus?"

"Of course. Your entire image had 'damsel in distress' written all over it."

"And I suppose you and the Commander have 'dashing hero' written all over your image?"

Garrus seemed to blush for a moment before he rubbed the back of his neck. "I suppose we like to think it's that way."

Their conversation was interrupted when Tali cleared her throat. "Guys, we have more important things to do than flirt to each other in public."

"I thought you rather enjoyed flirting when the Commander held your hand all around the presidium." Garrus smiled.

Tali's eyes could be seen growing wide. "Why you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerfherder!"

Garrus laughed. "You did not just use that human reference on me!"

Tali rubbed her arm, embarrassed. "You started it."

"Come on. We have more important things to do than standing around all day doing nothing." Garrus spoke as Tali turned around to lead them to the next store. Liara grabbed ahold of his arm, however, and he stopped.

"Garrus, do you think we can make one more stop after we're done with Tali's list?"

"Sure, we have time. What do you want to do?"

Liara blinked her eyes but kept her face emotionless. "I want to buy a combat suit."

As Zach walked into Dr. Michel's office, he could already tell the poor woman was in trouble again from the sound of her voice as she spoke to some unknown person over the phone.

"I need those medical supplies. I can't-"

_"You _can _and you _will!_ Or your secret won't stay hidden for long!"_ The user on the other side of the line hung up, leaving a distressed doctor and curious spectre behind.

"Oh, Commander." Dr. Michel spoke as she turned to see guests. "Is there something you need?"

"Every time I walk in here, someone always seems to be threatening you. What was that all about?"

"I can't get into it. It's personal."

"But I might be able to help you. I saved your life once already."

"Well, that's true." The woman looked down for a moment, possibly weighing her options. "I used to work for a medical corporation that made medical supplies. I would offer free supplies to clinics like this one. When my surperiors found out, they told me I had to leave. They didn't file a lawsuit or anything. They just wanted me gone. I haven't been bothered about it until now. Someone aboard the Citadel is blackmailing me."

"Maybe we could find out who's behind it; get him off your back."

"The one blackmailing me is expecting me to deliver a shipment of medical supplies to the salarian shopkeeper Morlan. If you can find out who's behind it and get him to stop, I'd appreciate it."

"We'll be back as soon as we're done." Zach signaled for Kaidan and Ashley to head out. They walked over to the markets and were about to head down the stairs when-

"Commander Shepard! I just heard you became the first human spectre! That is incredible!"

_That's just great. _Red's voice seemed to echo in the back of Zach' s mind as he turned to see Conrad Verner. "Ah, right. Conrad."

"Wow. You remembered my name." The man's eyes seemed to widen like a child's eyes when they see ice cream being scooped into a bowl. "Hey, can I get a picture of you?"

Zach scratched his head. "I don't have a problem with it, but why?"

"Years from now, everybody's going to remember your name, and I'll have your picture. Just point out your gun in a heroic pose."

Zach complied, but he felt a little awkward, as if his facial expression didn't fit the pose.

"Perfect." Conrad said as he snapped the picture before Zach put his arm down. "Thanks again, Commander. I'm going to hang this up in my living room. My wife will love it!" The giddy man walked away, making Zach a little worried as he heard him whisper "My precious."

"Ten credits says he doesn't have a wife." Ashley smirked.

"You're on!" Kaidan agreed.

Zach had to smile at his crew's funny banter. But he felt he needed to keep moving. Morlan was only down the stairs and Dr. Michel was waiting for them to come back. So he continued to walk down the stairs and the others followed. The salarian could easily be seen from the end of the stairs wearing a black suit and dark skin tone. His beady black eyes noticed the three of them walking towards his shop.

"Hello there! Welcome to Morlan's Famous Shop! You want many good supplies, yes?"

Zach rested his arms atop of the counter, looking around as if he was searching for someone. "You were expecting a shipment of medical supplies?"

"But I was told the doctor would be dropping off the supplies." Morlan rubbed his arm nervously.

"Change of plans, Morlan." Kaidan spoke.

"A change? But I don't- this is not right, human!" Morlan was becoming increasingly terrified as a krogan with a blue crest plate and blue clothes appeared.

"Shut up, Morlan! I knew you couldn't handle this!" He bellowed at the salarian, who had taken refuge underneath his counter as he saw the krogan's lips move. "Who the hell are you?"

"Leave the doctor alone!" Zach commanded of the large brute in front of him.

"This doesn't have to be hard. All you need to do is give me the medical supplies, or else the doctor's secret is out."

Zach twitched his finger towards his shotgun. "Her secret stays buried, or I bury you." The mask he wore on his face was one he practiced so many times back on Earth in order to protect himself, as well as people he cared about, from those that thought they were stronger than him.

The krogan lifted his hands in fear. "Hold on! I'm just the middle man here! Banes doesn't pay me enough for this!" Zach smiled as the krogan ran away from them.

Morlan popped his head out of his hiding spot to see the krogan was gone. "Thank you for speaking to him. I was afraid no one could stop him from getting violent."

Zach turned to face the scared shopkeeper. "What do you know about Banes?"

"I have never met the man. I only know the one that spoke with the doctor."

"Perhaps Dr. Michel knows. Banes could be someone from her past." Kaidan suggested.

"All right. We're done here. Let's go." And so they left the counter and Morlan behind.

The walk back to the clinic seemed longer for Ashley as her mind pondered on her Commander's hostility towards the krogan. Whenever he was in battle; whenever he killed someone, his eyes were sad. However, he threatened that krogan with a cold stare and didn't even blink. Perhaps he made expressions like that as a mask in order to hide his true emotions or to intimidate foes he knew he couldn't or didn't want to fight.

That trait strangely enough reminded her of Owen.

_I sometimes mask my emotions to hide my true purposes._ The man's voice echoed back in her head. _But I would never do that to you, Ashley. I'm just too honest with you._

_What a lie. _She thought as that voice slowly descended back into her memory.

Zach opened the door to the clinic and walked towards Dr. Michel. "I took care of the people bothering you. They won't be hassling you anymore."

"Really? Thank you, Commander! I can't really pay you for doing this, but I can give you a discount on my wares."

_Like discounts even matter. _Ashley thought. _Everything in the galaxy's already expensive._

"One other thing," Zach continued, "One of the culprits mentioned someone named Banes. Do you know him?"

"Banes? I wonder if they meant Armistan Banes. Last I heard, he was with the Alliance on some kind of project."

"Perhaps we could talk to Anderson about this." Ashley suggested.

"Agreed." Zach turned back to Michel. "We should get moving."

"Thank you again, Commander. Tell Garrus I said hi."

"I'll pass the word along. I'm sure I'll probably run into him before we head back to the ship."

"But this place is so big, and we're always walking." Ashley complained.

"There's taxi stations for a reason, Ash. But apparently, you love the exercise." Zach smiled.

Ashley groaned as they exited the clinic.

"Why do you want to buy a combat suit?" Garrus asked Liara as he slid the credit chit through the machine, paying for the new ship parts that Tali needed for the Normandy.

"You said the Commander only respected those that assisted him in combat or saved his life. Going out on the field may earn me the respect and trust he needs in order to assimilate me into the crew."

"Yeah, but do you really think you're ready for combat? I mean, the Commander has been taking it slow with Tali on missions. You both have never experienced things like fear and death."

"Correction, Garrus." Tali spoke up. "I experienced fear on Edolus when a thresher maw popped out of the ground. And Shepard had sent our tank on the beast. When the battle was over, however, Shepard was so caring about me. I was shaking in fear and he calmed me down."

"Shepard watches over the well-being of many of his crew apparently. And you're the youngest on this mission. It's probably a little harder on you."

"How did he calm you down?" Liara asked.

"Well, he took hold of my hand and gently squeezed it. I saw his eyes, and they were filled with sadness. I don't know why his eyes do that."

"Yeah," Garrus agreed. "I honestly don't know why his eyes do that, either. Maybe it's a human thing."

"Perhaps." Liara shrugged.

"It could have something to do with Stark." Tali concluded.

"Who's Stark?"

"The Butcher of Torfan." Garrus added. "He's apparently a bad influence on humanity."

"But he was also once Shepard's friend. Something happened that could have something to do with Shepard's eyes and perhaps even Stark's brutality. I just need to figure out what." Tali appeared to lose herself in thought, so Garrus and Liara continued their chat.

"In any case," Liara continued, "if I volunteer to go out on a mission, the Commander may respect me more and start to show trust, if not full trust, in my intentions. I already know I don't need to convince you, Garrus, but if the crew trusts me, then I'd feel much more welcome."

"Is my trust not enough?" Garrus asked.

"It's enough to make me adjust to the ship, but other than that, I still don t feel so welcome."

Garrus rubbed his chin. "Well, if you think it'll help, I don't see why not. Let's go to a vendor."

As Zach got off of the elevator to the presidium, he continued to think of Edolus. He didn't understand why he continued to dwell on how coincidental it was to his past. It was a nightmare to think about all of the lives that have been taken over the case of an ambush in a thresher maw nest; lured to their deaths by a false distress beacon.

Then his thoughts jumped to Tali.

She had been scared through the whole event, from the thresher maw's rising to the aftermath of the battle. But he couldn't get the hidden expression out of his mind. He knew she was scared of something throughout all of that, but he thought there was a possibility that seconds into it it wasn't the thresher maw she was scared of.

But he was glad he was able to calm her down. Giving her the gentle squeeze he once gave Jess when they hid from her father's goons as they passed by one of their hiding spots worked. It was another reminder of how similar the two of them were. Not only were they smart, but they were scared of things and he knew a way they both calmed down to. They both had excellent figures at their current ages he knew them at. Jess had always been light and skinny since the beginning, and Tali was perhaps the same way due to quarian physiology.

They did possess differences, though. Jess possessed biotics at age fourteen, and Zach had never seen or heard of a biotic quarian. Jess also had an advantage as she could be the tough cowgirl kind of person, but Tali was perhaps too kind-hearted as of now that she did not possess this quality yet.

_Why am I even comparing the two? _He thought. _They are obviously two different people._

The door to Udina's office opened in front of him, and Udina immediately started a rant. "Do you have any idea how disastrous destroying those ruins was?! They were over fifty-thousand years old!"

"This isn't a game, Udina!" Anderson interjected, supporting Zach as he always did. "Shepard is out there trying to stop Saren, and you're worried about a prothean ruin that nearly stopped him from doing just that?!"

"I apologize, Commander." Udina spoke as he turned from looking at Anderson during his speech. "Just be more careful next time. Remember, your actions affect humanity as a whole. And I have to clean up after your messes."

"So you keep pointing out." Zach said as Udina ran away to attend to other meetings.

"Was there something you needed, Shepard?" Anderson asked.

"Actually, yes. What do you know about an Armistan Banes?"

Anderson's facial expression changed. "Where did you hear that name?! Never mind, I don't want to know! Banes is dead; has been for some time."

"The people I talked to believe he's alive." Zach became confused.

"A few weeks ago, an Alliance scouting team found Banes dead aboard one of our ships floating in space randomly. He had been contracted by the Alliance to do a special project with them, however I wasn't aware of what it was, so I couldn't tell you if I wanted to. You could speak to Admiral Kahouku if you want more information."

"That's ironic." Ashley said. "We were going to visit Admiral Kahouku after we talked with you. Shepard and Kaidan found his team dead on Edolus."

"What? How did it happen?"

Zach balled up his fist. "The same way it happened on Akuze. They were lured by a distress beacon planted next to a thresher maw nest. This time, there were no survivors."

"Goddamnit." Anderson swore. "You should notify Kahouku of this immediately. I assumed you made a report of this?"

Zach pulled out an OSD. "I wanted to hand it to you personally." He gave the disc to Anderson. "If you guys pick up any information on who's responsible, I want to know."

Anderson nodded, but his face was stern. "You may want to be careful, son. This sounds like a road you don't want to travel. I know how hard you were hit by Akuze, but I don't want you going on a rampage like Stark. You of all people know how he became the Butcher of Torfan."

"Yeah, but you also know what I saw in Stark, as did Hackett."

"Funny how you mention that. I spoke to Stark again today with Hackett a little bit before you arrived. He wanted to start an investigation on a black ops organization that disappeared years ago that miraculously returned and the company Calypso. I spoke against it, but Hackett said he would hand out any information he pulled up. He also made some speech about how Stark could be a paragon or a renegade from a single choice. I still don't understand why you still defend the man, but apparently, Hackett does."

"Sometimes we do things others don't understand. It's part of life. Sometimes even the person who does it doesn't understand why until after a while."

"What happens when the one responsible understands?"

"They realize it's a thought in the back of the mind that influenced them." Zach turned around. "We'll see you again soon, sir."

"Take care, Shepard." Anderson waved. When they disappeared, he placed the OSD into Udina's terminal and observed the report. He shook his head over the lost soldiers, and he became just as intrigued as Shepard was over their death. Then he thought to Stark's mission. For some odd reason, he sensed a connection. Both of them ran into things better left in the past, and they both appeared randomly around the same time. What if Cerberus was responsible for both incidents? It would make sense; after being off radar so long, it would make sense that they would be committing atrocities like Edolus and Chasca.

But how does Calypso tie in?

_"The answer to that is obvious, Captain Anderson." _The man turned towards the sound of that voice. _"Calypso ties in because it is our job to ensure galactic peace and prosperity through the shadows, even when we let the light shine upon us for one second."_

"Who the hell are you?"

_"Someone who has the answers you seek. You wish to discover why Calypso had three Hercules-class bombs destroy the colony on Chasca. The answer to that is simple: we were one step ahead. We've been investigating into Cerberus's activities since their unexpected return. However, their group has expanded since going underground. We are watching over them as much as we can, but like the Shadow Broker, we haven't been able to fit in any permeanent agents into their organization."_

"Why are you telling me this?"

_"Because you can be trusted. You are a charismatic Alliance official who has all of the answers thanks to your friend, Barla Von, who will be visited by my people shortly carrying a package that won't harm him; in case you believe we wish to terminate your contact with the Shadow Broker. But the Broker, himself, has caused us some trouble recently as he sent an agent to try and extrapolate information from our research. That is something we cannot allow,"_

"What's so valuable to you that you have to hide it from the Shadow Broker?"

_"There are many important projects within Calypso that require clearance to level 0 areas. If the Shadow Broker got ahold of even one, the galaxy might end up in turmoil trying to buy off one of those projects. If it fell into the hands of a rogue merc or pirate gang, then the Terminus Systems would be ready for war with the council. Our projects are meant to stop a war that will inevitably start, and Saren is only the beginning. More than this, I must not say of. But Shepard will bring you the answers you seek soon enough." _Suddenly The Stranger became cloaked and left, leaving Anderson alone with his thoughts.

Zach walked out of the elevator to the council chambers and found his way to Kahouku, who was still not having luck with the official channels. The admiral turned around at the sound of footsteps.

"Have you looked into that matter I asked you about, Commander?"

"I don't know how to tell you this, Admiral, so I'll say it plain. Your men were killed by a thresher maw."

The admiral suddenly changed his tone. "A thresher m- Impossible! There's no way my men would die over a stupid mistake like running into a thresher nest! Not the entire unit!"

"Someone had lured your men there with a distress beacon. It's not the first time this has happened. This same incident occurred on Akuze six years ago. I am the only survivor of the incident. But none of your men had a chance. Kaidan and I double-checked for survivors. We found none."

"Damn it!" He acknowledged. "I knew something was wrong when they dropped out of contact. I had better get arrangements set up. Their families ought to know what happened."

"Anderson said you might know something about the death of Armistan Banes."

"Not as much as I'd like to. The recon unit I sent you to find had found Banes's ship battered by a barrage of cannon fire. Everyone inside was dead either by the impact of the attack or by bullets through their head. We still don't know who did it, though."

"Is there anything else you need from me?"

"I appreciate the offer, but right now I need to do this alone. I'll get in contact with you if I need anything else."

"Good luck to you, Admiral."

"Same to you, Commander." And the two men departed from one another. Kahouku activated his communicator and contacted Captain Anderson.

_"Yes, Admiral."_

"I would like for you to set a meeting up with Barla Von for me."

_"I'll set a meeting up. I'm not sure he'll have what you need, though."_

"Ask him to get information on who visited Edolus a week before my unit disappeared there."

_"Sounds simple enough. I'll get him on it. I'll tell you when he'll see you once he calls back."_

"Thank you, Captain. I owe you for this."

Back in the markets, Garrus carried the ship parts as Tali carried the mako parts. Liara was busy haggling with a volus shopkeeper and trying to find a good combat suit that would be useful to her. Taking a look around, he saw a human arguing with a turian that almost sounded like him about whether or not he bought an item from his store. Looking back at his friends, he saw Tali staring at the ground, apparently lost in thought in the corner they were standing in to avoid the crowd. Liara was now holding onto a black combat suit that looked to be the Gladiator suit made for those not trained to wear armor.

Garrus tried to imagine what it'd be like for Liara to wear that suit. What would she look like in that tight leather suit designed for those who wanted their movements to be quick as they fought off their foes? He had seen most asari (and a few beautiful human women) wear these light armor suits that hugged to their bodies so much you could see even the curves of their body being formed around the suit. He didn't have a fetish for either species, but he had to admit, they did look good in those suits.

_Then again, the asari are dancers._ Garrus joked to himself as he saw Liara shake hands with the volus; a smile forming on her face. She slid a credit chit through the machine as the volus packed up the suit in a small case. Garrus got Tali's attention as Liara walked up to them.

"I found one I could make good use of on our mission." She spoke, her blue skin just meters away from Garrus's face.

"Uh, yeah. I think I saw what you chose. The black one, right?"

"Yes. I think I'm going to try and convince him to take me one the next mission with him."

"Let's not jump into the heat of battle just yet, Liara. You need to know how to handle a gun. Your biotics aren't going to be the only thing you need in a fight."

"Then teach me when we get back on the ship. I want to be able to help you all in your fight."

"I can try, but sometimes training people how to use guns takes a long time. Are you sure you really want to do all of this now?"

"I don't have a doubt, Garrus." The look in her eyes said it all.

"Fine. Come down to the cargo bay once Shepard retires for the night and I'll get something set up to train you for a bit."

Liara stood up on her toes and gave his left mandible a kiss. "Thank you, Garrus."

Garrus was surprised by this move, but he welcomed it. "Sure thing, Liara. Let's bring our stuff back to the Normandy and take some time to explore the presidium."

Ashley smacked her head at the Commander's next destination.

They were back at the embassies now, but they were heading for the expensive bar where all stuck-up politicians went. It didn't make sense for them to be going back and forth all the time when you had the opportunity to do two things at once. It's just a waste of time and energy.

Obviously the Commander didn't care.

They walked in and headed over to a table where an asari in a yellow dress sat next to a terminal. She had the word trouble written all over her, but her face was one of worry.

"Commander Shepard," The asari spoke. "my name is Nassana Dantius. I am glad you have come, for my sister is in grave peril. She's been captured by slavers."

"Let's just skip introductions. We killed your sister and we know she was blackmailing you. She was the slave ringleader you obviously planned on sending us up against."

The mask of sadness Nassana wore was replaced with the typical face of a politician. "Ah, and I was going to act so desperate to have you track her down for me."

"You wanted your sister killed?" Kaidan asked, a shocked expression on his face.

"If the council got wind of my sister's activities, they would've detained me or limited my political power until they apprehended her. It was better to have her removed from the equation than to go through that crap. Thank you for taking care of it early for me, then, Commander. You'll see that there will be a large credit transfer to your account as your reward."

The Commander merely smiled. "You're a diplomat on her way up the works. Having a spectre that owed you a favor may do you well for your reputation here."

_Did he just make a deal with a politician? Shepard?! _Ashley kept the shock off of her face from that thought.

Nassana seemed to consider this. "Most people could always just toss a few credits your way, but I can get you access to prototype asari mods. I'll have the company place you on their buyer's watch list so you can get the good stuff the next time you purchase biotic implants from any of their retailers. Good day, spectre."

"Good day to you, Miss Dantius." They began to walk away when they overheard three marines obviously on shore leave talking.

"She's not like the girls on the colonies. She's just so... so..."

"You don't have to do it with her. You can always just talk to her."

"Is that what you did, O'Brien? You just talked?"

"I didn't say that."

"Ha. I bet that's what you did, O'Brien." The first man laughed.

"Shut up, Freddricks." O'Brien replied, gritting his teeth before shutting up at the presence of the three soldiers standing behind Freddricks, who was beginning to turn as he sensed them, too.

"What do you want?" Freddricks dropped his attitude when he saw the Commander. He saluted nervously. "Oh, Commander. Can I help you with anything?"

"Relax, private. This isn't an inspection." Kaidan smiled.

"Right. Sorry." Freddricks dropped his salute. "So, can I help you with anything?"

"I heard you guys mention something about the Consort." Shepard spoke. "Do you wanna tell me what that's about?"

"Oh, well she's a woman who- I mean she helps with certain- by that I mean-"

"You didn't get to see her, did you, Freddricks?" The smile on Kaidan's face as he said that made the senario even funnier. Even Ashley found herself smiling.

"I- no. It costs a whole year's salary just to see her."

"Do you at least know where she is?" The Commander asked.

"Yeah. She's just on the other side of the presidium, over the bridge next to the embassies."

"Thank you. We're done here."

"See you, kid." Ashley spoke, smiling her face off. "Have fun. Try not to get into too much trouble."

"I will. Have fun that is." She kept smiling until they left the bar, where her serious face returned.

"Commander, not that it's any of my own business, but do you plan on doing what I think you're gonna do?"

Shepard turned around. "What? Sleep with the Consort after everything Freddricks just said? No. I don't like sleeping with women who have had multiple partners."

_Crap, _Ashley thought, _that means if Owen and I actually slept together during that night on shore leave where we got so drunk we woke up naked on opposite sides of the fields of the colony, then Shepard would probably never be with me. Of course, we must've been so hammered we couldn't remember if we actually did anything. But I laying on top of a blanket with our clothes next to me didn't help either sides of the case. It was a good thing no one questioned us when we explained why we were late when we came back._

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Because then it wouldn't feel right to me. If I was about to sleep with a woman and I found out she's been with twenty other sexual partners, I'd leave without a second thought. If I'm going to be with someone, I want to be with someone who'll only be with me. That's why my partner's not going to be an asari. No matter how young they are, they're always going to be with multiple partners. That's something I can't accept."

"Wow. I didn't realize you had strong feelings about that kind of thing."

"When the man that raises you tries to raise you as a xenophobic zealot for God, you tend to only accept a few things he teaches you, even when he doesn't accept his own teachings."

Ashley leaned towards Kaidan. "What do you think he means by that?" She whispered.

"I don't know." He whispered back.

They turned to see the Commander smiling at them. "I'll tell you that story some time." He laughed as he left the two of them lost in their thoughts about it. But soon enough, Ashley's thoughts returned to Owen a third time today as they reached the bridge.

_Owen, if you actually felt anything for me, why did you leave me on Eden Prime?_

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm glad I finally got this chapter done. It was a bit annoying. Anyway, I hope you noticed how I keep mentioning this Owen character in Ashley's mind. It should've been obvious from the start that I have plans for Ashley's future within the trilogy and beyond. If you didn't notice, now you know. If you did, go ahead and pat yourself on the back or something.

Moving on, I'm going to take this time to say that I will be off of the XBOX for the time being until we solve the problem with our disc tray. First it would not allow us to play any of the new games (That's what happened to Dragon Age: Origins) or took some time to read the discs. Now after swapping disc trays from a friend's xbox he wasn't going to fix, it only reads DVDs. So I'm screwed. ='(

Also, have you seen Genol3oost's new ME3 tribute Breathe yet? It's based off of the Shepard/Tali romance, and it is awesome. It's obvious the next one that will come out is Garrus and femShep (you know what, I'm going to save that question in my head for later). I also got the song because of how good it is, and initiated a dislike barrage on a YouTube user who had the audacity to say he loved killing Tali after she stabbed Legion (_She saved your life, you f#%king 5 5hole!)._

Shoutouts go to Bud89 and Admiral Anderson, who has his own story in the works called Hero of Elysium. He also incorporated a way to add in all of the other backstories (or perhaps most so far) and I found it incredibly ironic that one of the Admirals in his book has my middle and last name for his name (My first name has been obvious since day one). I'll try and come out with the next chapter soon, but I won't be able to start immediately tomorrow due to work giving me two 12-hrs in two days. But I'll be working on the three personal Shepard quests within the game itself, a meeting with the shortest, fattest billionaire in the galaxy, and the meeting you've all been waiting for: Stark and Shepard after all these years; all within the next two chapters.

P.S. I think only Bud89 will get this hint, but this link is a major spoiler for a future segment in the storyline:

watch?v=rlyJ-xAimgE

If that link is there, then I hope you get the clue. If it isn't, then I'll just tell you if you decide to PM me or something. I hope it works, though.


	20. Chapter 19: Old Friends

Chapter 19: Old Friends

Zach walked inside the Consort's front door to the asari at the front desk, whose smile gave him an odd feeling. He wasn't used to seeing someone so positive on the presidium; most people had too many sticks shoved up their asses that they could only make a straight face or groan.

"Welcome to the Consort's office. My name is Nelyna. How may I help you?"

"What exactly goes around here? I've randomly heard rumors but..."

"The Consort is here to give people what they need, whether it is a relief of stress or a few words of advice. In fact, she is so popular that the next three to four months have already been booked."

Zach shrugged his shoulders. "Are people really so desperate to see her that they wait three to four months?"

Nelyna laughed. "It's not really my place to judge." Suddenly she reached for the earpiece in her ear. "Yes, Mistress. Of course, Mistress. I'll send him right up." Her hand repositioned itself to its original spot. "Hmm. It appears the Consort has taken notice of you. She wishes to speak to you."

"Aww, already?" Kaidan joked. "I wanted to sign up so three or four months after we defeat Saren she can help me celebrate."

"What is this, Kaidan, a bow-chicka-bow-wow moment for you? Keep your jaw away from the floor or else she'll get the wrong message." Zach turned back towards Nylena. "Point me in the right direction."

"Just head left, up the stairs, to the right." The three soldiers left the desk woman where she was and followed her instructions, passing by other acolytes and people waiting to meet this mysterious woman. Once they had reached the chambers, they came across a strikingly beautiful asari standing with her back towards them.

"That's close enough." She spoke, making Zach stop in his tracks. "I assume you are wondering why I called you here."

"What is it you do here?" He asked.

"I offer advice to some, comfort to others. But right now, I have not called you here to offer either yet."

"Good. I had no plans on sleeping with you."

"I was hoping you could do me a favor. One of my clients has started spreading lies about me; a turian general named Septimus. He was a normal client, but he wanted to be more than I could be. We had a falling out, and now he spends his times at Chora's Den, drinking and spreading lies. I was hoping you could speak to him; remind him about a soldier's honor."

"We can do that." He replied.

"Crap!" Ashley yelled.

"Is there something wrong?" The Consort asked Ash.

"Ashley just hates walking everywhere. She needs to learn to suck it up." He turned around and started heading out, followed by Kaidan. Ashley stayed a moment longer.

"You may as well give up on letting go and being with your commander." The Consort spoke. "He is as interested in you as he is in me. Besides, this Owen fellow you were with is handsome."

"Are you reading my mind with that whole 'embrace eternity' crap you do?"

The Consort smiled. "Not at all. A passing stranger told me everything before you even set foot in my room."

"Just shut up right now, you bitch." And Ashley headed out the door, leaving behind the Consort to laugh about their little predicament.

Stark walked with his head down on his walk between the presidium and the wards, where he planned on visiting the C-Sec requisitions officer for new parts to his shotgun. His hands were in the pockets of the leather jacket he wore today. He didn't feel like wearing his vest and hand wraps he wore almost all the time on Mindoir. He was in a jacket and jeans kind of mood for some odd reason, like the day he rescued that quarian. His knife was strapped to his right leg, laying still without even a whisper for blood.

His thoughts reflected on the meeting with Hackett and Anderson. He couldn't believe it when he heard that Shepard was the one who recommended him for N7 training. Even though Stark had made it clear on Torfan that he hated Shepard, the man was still the reason he became one of the best. Why he would do something so lunicidal was beyond Stark's thoughts. Is it because he spared the non-combatants just because they weren't a challenge yet? Or is it because Stark had a heart?

Had a heart. Only Talitha and Nyrina could bring that out.

"Excuse me." He heard some bum speak to him. "Do you think you could spare me twenty credits? I need some whiskey in order to help me sleep tonight."

Stark turned towards the sound of that familiar voice. "Well, I'll be damned. It's you."

"Do I know you?" The man asked.

"You're Lieutenant Zabaleta. You were there when I led survivors out of Mindoir."

Zabaleta's eyes lit up. "That was you with the last seventeen survivors that weren't killed or rounded up like animals? Well, isn't this a surprise! The little scrawny teenager that killed a batarian with nothing but unimplanted biotic power and his own combat knife has grown up to be a big man. And I just happen to be down on my luck to run into him on the Citadel when I don't have a ticket off of here or a bottle of whiskey to drown out the memories."

Stark raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying it's a bad thing I'm here?"

"Oh, not at all! I'm just saying now I have something to remind me why I'm now a goddamn bum on this fucking Citadel."

"I'm pretty sure you're still insulting my presence there, LT." Stark took a quick smell of the homeless man. "And if you're going to drink a lot, pack the tic tacs. Even I keep my breath smelling fresh after downing a bottle of '47 Thessia Red."

"Very funny, Stark. But we all know that you have the advantage to do that. I'm just trash now. Living alone on the Citadel with nothing but the horrible memories."

"Why not just go to Veteran's Affairs office? That would straighten out those memories really well."

"Are you fucking kidding me?! There's no way I'm going to a place like that!"

"Come on, Zabaleta. You obviously need help. You snapped under the stress of the screams on Mindoir. I, on the other hand, rose from the flames of my own home; the ashes of my parents, and became a phoenix that led the last of my friends and civilians out of there from the ashes."

"And then on Torfan you snapped as you killed three-hundred batarians. Every human saw the news as you came back to Arcturus Station; your armor still covered in the blood of the batarians. If anybody needs help, it's you."

Stark grabbed Zabaleta by the collar of his shirt. "Listen up, asshole, the only person that helps me sleep sound at night actually is a person, not a fucking bottle. While you lay out here in the slums like a drunkard, I have the opportunity of falling asleep in the same bed as a beautiful asari. I sleep without any regrets to my past actions, but I'm still working hard to change the actions for my future with her. At least I'm trying. What are you doing to change your life?"

Zabaleta finally gave up. "All right! Fine! Send me to the Veteran Affairs office!"

"Is there a problem here?" A C-Sec officer walked over to the two men.

Stark put Zabaleta down. "Not at all, Officer. Just trying to convince a veteran to get off of the street. Send him to the Veteran Affairs office and get him the help he needs."

"Uh, right away, Mr. Stark." The turian grabbed the man's arm but stopped before he left as Stark pulled out a twenty credit chit.

"Here's for doing this favor for me." He handed the turian the chit.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. I appreciate your patronage."

Stark shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm not as much of the bad guy as people say I am. Maybe it's time I started showing that."

"Perhaps you are." And the turian left with Zabaleta in tow, making Stark smile at this compliment.

Nearly fifteen minutes after walking back to the wards, Zach was still laughing to himself as Ashley groaned about her aching feet. Walking back to the lower markets, he opened up the door that led to the path of Chora's Den.

He never expected who waited on the other side of that door.

"Well, well, look who it is. I heard it was you, but I never actually believed it. Shepard grew up and became a soldier."

Zach turned to the man who spoke. "Do I know you?"

"Name's Finch. You probably don't remember me, but we used to run together in the Tenth Street Reds. You might not even remember it yourself, running in a gang. None of the vids mention anything about it."

"My days with the Reds are a thing of the past. I made sure you guys knew that after your little stunt years ago."

"We're not here to cause trouble, Shepard. All we're asking for is a favor, for old times sake. One of the Reds, Kurt Weisman, was taken by the turians over some stupid charge. We heard you had pull with the aliens now, so we want you to ask them to let him out."

"What is a Tenth Street Red doing to piss off the turians?"

"He was just slipping a little red sand. You know how the turians are."

_He's lying. _Zach thought to himself, knowing very well that the Reds only had one goal in mind. "Why in the world are the Tenth Street Reds even outside of Earth?"

"The Reds have expanded since the old days when you were around. We now have little groups around the colonies, expanding our influence."

_Your influences are not going to help this case. And what you had tried to do to Jessica won't help you, either. Something's not right. _Zach grabbed ahold of Finch's collar, making up his mind. "My gang days are over, Finch. Get out of my way."

Finch got out of Zach's grasp. "Fine, but if you change your mind, the turian guard is in the bar. Oh, and Shepard, you may no longer be part of the Reds, but you don't want us as enemies." Finch walked away, making Zach think of the past again.

_Metropolis Outskirts, 13:07 pm_

_Somewhere in America; April 27, 2170_

_Zach opened the door to the Reds' hideout slowly, watching the rest of Tenth Street to make sure no one else but Jess would follow. When it was apparent no one would follow, he let her walk in first so he could lock the rusty door behind them. Jess looked around the old abandoned house he had a privilege of calling home from time to time, amazed that it still was recognizable as an old home._

_"This place must be centuries old!" She yelled, making Zach place his hand over her mouth._

_"Quiet. The house isn't sound-proof, but the basement area is. Please don't yell. If law enforcement cracked down on this place, I would lose one of my three only places to sleep and your father will no doubt send you away. I don't want that."_

_He removed his hand from her lips. "Sorry." She whispered, rubbing her hands in embarrassment._

_"It's okay. Just be careful while we're here." He led her to a door with what appeared to be an old number lock. "This was here when we found the house. Figuring out the code was easy for me." He then typed in the numbers 0-7-3-5. The door opened quietly._

_"Impressive, Zach. Most impressive." She walked in first and Zach closed the door behind him. He slid ahead of her to lead them down. There was enough light downstairs to see where they were going. There was a conversation between two people downstairs that he initially recognized as Finch and Will laughing about the things they grabbed from some rich guy over near the northern border._

_"Good evening, Reds." Zach spoke as he saw them all come into view in their spots of bean-bag chairs and old sofas. Finch and Will were sitting over in the bean-bag chairs near a very dirty window that is their escape route should authorities come busting into their domain. Jordan and Joseph were arm wrestling each other over at a fine wooden table that appeared to have survived the hundred-something years it had been stored in the house. Flower, the only girl in the group with no real past and no known family, was sitting idly in a hammock closer to the entrance. Lance, the biggest of the group, was busy lifting weights near Finch, grinning like an idiot over his immense strength. Finally, Tinker, a shy kid with a knack for fixing things that were broken beyond repair, was sitting alone working on a broken omni-tool. They all looked up when he started to speak. "I bring to you tonight a beautiful city iris freshly picked from the gardens of the rich."_

_"Really, Shepard?" Will began. "More poetic crap? Just say you brought a rich girl to our hideout!"_

_"Relax, Will." Finch stood from his seat. "Shepard can address his guests any way he wants. Besides, she is quite a beauty." He slowly approached the two._

_"Careful, Finch. She bites." Zach warned, lifting his sleeve up from his worn sweater. "Literally."_

_Jessica smirked at the bite marks she made, knowing very well Zach told her to do it as a joke for meeting with the Reds._

_"My kind of girl." Finch took another step forward._

_Jess flicked her wrist, and in an instant Finch was floating two feet above the ground. "I also have biotics, so I wouldn't have any trouble throwing you across the room if you plan on getting into my pants."_

_"That means play nice, Finch. I've seen her destroy multiple crates with a throw. She will definitely make the damage permanent if you try anything stupid."_

_"Message received." Finch immediately fell down as Jess released him from her grasp._

_"Good boy." She mocked with a smile on her face._

_Flower immediately rose from her bed. "Oh, Shepard, it's always nice when you bring guests! Oh, she is just lovely!" She then approached them both and kissed them both on the lips, giving Zach an embarrased look and Jess a look that immediately spoke 'what the hell was that?!'_

_"That's how she greets people." Zach rubbed the back of his neck. "She's friendly about greeting people."_

_"A little too friendly if you ask me." Jess rubbed her lips from the strange greeting._

_"No, she's not friendly enough." Finch spoke. "Will offered to have sex with her one night. She kicked him so hard he could hardly stand let alone walk or breathe on his bad leg and pulverized balls."_

_"She's also made it apparent that no one else gets the chance to sleep with her." Lance spoke, getting up from his spot with an energy bar in his hands. His Russian accent wasn't thick but it was noticable. "But a kiss is fine with me. Lance Chanofsky, at your service." He reached his hand out to grab Jess's hand, bringing it close to his lips as he kissed the back of her hand tenderly. He knew Zach wouldn't be jealous; Lance did this as a stunt when he distracted some of the rich people's daughters during a stealth heist._

_Jess shuddered. "Well, I see one of your friends really is charming, Zach."_

_"Yeah. But that's what he does to every teenage girl while Flower steals something expensive. If it wasn't for me, half of your belongings may have belonged to the Reds." He had told Jess about how he had to steal from people in order to survive, but he made sure she knew he only stole from those who could afford it, and not from those that couldn't._

_"He's not trying anything now, is he?"_

_"No. He holds enough sense to not steal from a friend of mine. I assure you, he's being a gentleman."_

_Lance released her hand. "Shepard speaks truthfully. I would never steal or lay a hand on you or the old man from the church he often visits. I hold more honor than a common thief of this corrupted city."_

_"There's no such thing as honor in Metropolis anymore, Lance." Finch spoke from his bean-bag chair that he returned to._

_"Ha!" Lance responded. "You whelps no longer hold onto honor because this city has corrupted your minds! Even in the 1900s, where the Soviet Union stood tall with an Iron Curtain across half the globe, we still held a shred of honor towards our forefathers. Even when it collapsed, we still had honor in our hearts to our country. And now with the Alliance, I still hold honor towards those that fight for humanity's future!"_

_"Like we give a fuck!" Jordan yelled from his spot over at the table._

_"Bah." Lance breathed as he turned towards Zach. "Shepard, you understand honor, no? You understand the meaning of a promise, a fair fight, to look straight into an enemy's eyes just before you kill or defeat him?"_

_"Yes, Lance. I'd never make a promise I couldn't keep, and I'd give an opponent an even chance to defeat me. And I wouldn't hide behind a mask before his defeat. I would look him in his eyes so he understands that I beat him fair and square."_

_"That is why you would always be a comrade in my book. I'm sure my cousin Yuri would also like you if you two met."_

_"You never know." He shook hands with him before he walked over to his friend Tinker. "Hey, Tink. How's it going?"_

_"I'm trying to get this Nexus to work. It just needs a little more work before I can use it, however." The young man spoke quietly._

_"You don't want to say hi to my friend?"_

_Tinker raised his head and looked at Jess, who had started to talk a bit to Flower, commenting on her long, snow-blonde hair. He shook his head._

_"Why?"_

_"I'm just- Flower is-" The poor kid started to mumble. That's when Zach remembered that Tinker had tried to ask Flower out but was too scared of rejection he came out a blabbering fool._

_"You know, I could've explained to her how you felt. All you need to do is ask."_

_"No. I couldn't let you do that. You've given me too much already, and not enough for yourself. That's why I was hoping when I got the Nexus fixed, you would take it. You do need one, after all."_

_"I couldn't take that from you even if every pirate in the Terminus Systems pointed a gun at my face. You are the one fixing it. It's yours."_

_"But you're the one that found it."_

_"And I gave it to you because you need more use for it than I do. I'll be fine without one for a while longer."_

_"Hey, guys! Check out the news! Mindoir's been attacked!" Will immediately shouted as he turned up the volume on the small cracked screen that only played the Alliance News Network. Everyone gathered around the small screen to see the horrifying images of the burning colony._

"We have just received word that theres are hundreds dead and more captured and thrown into cages like animals." _The news reporter spoke. _"Alliance forces have been entrenched by the batarian defenses, and it doesn't look like the Alliance will be getting in to save them anytime soon. Wait a sec." _The reporter turned to face a wall being ripped apart by a biotic field. Soon after, a teenager with tears streaming down his eyes and blood flowing from his arms walked out; a batarian knife in his hands._

"COME, FREE PEOPLE OF MINDOIR! THE ALLIANCE CAN SAVE EVERYONE NOW!" _The teen roared as he and some colonists walked out of the hole; the ashes of their home falling around those that held their head high._

"Oh, my God! We have survivors coming towards the Alliance, and the Alliance is providing covering fire from the batarians along the wall. This is incredible! I did not believe this would've been possible, but it appears a teen biotic has saved a small portion of the colonists from the batarian terrorists."

_Zach looked at this biotic with the blade. He wasn't harmed himself, which meant the blood was from the batarians he no doubt killed with that dangerous tool in his hands. His dark brown hair was covered in ash, and the tears that streamed across his face signified that he must've lost a lot of important people in the colony, such as his parents or his friends._

"Excuse me, young man." _The reporter approached the biotic. _"What's your name, young man?"

"Henry. Henry Stark." _Stark had spoken through sobs._

"Now, Henry, I'd understand if you don't want to answer this now, but what was it like in there? Were you scared?"

"Do you have family?"

"I have a beautiful wife and two children, Henry."

"Imagine you being held down and forced to watch your wife burned in a blaze of flame by a batarian pyro, then seeing your children being tortured as they place a device on their head that will ensure they are obedient slaves that are abused by extreme masters! And when you're broken, they just fucking shoot you dead next to your wife's ashes! You ask if I was afraid of my oppresors. I wasn't. I was enraged! They killed my parents right in font of me and my brother! My little sister is still in the chaos back there because I couldn't find her and save her from those bastards! The blood all over me is that of my oppressors as I fought them all to save those I could! I killed them all and saved only this small group as transports began to leave with dozens more I was not strong enough to save! This knife," _he held out the blade in his hand. _"is a testimony to those that have lost their lives on Mindoir, as I made the batarians' count of bloodshed even to those dead in my home. This crime is unredeemable, and I hope their gods send them all to hell!" _Stark then walked away and Will shut off the screen._

_"Fucking alien bastards." Jordan spoke. "We should attack one of their colonies! Show them what it's like to have your people abused!"_

_"Yeah!" Finch, Will, and Joseph agreed in unison._

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

_Everyone shut up over Jessica's comment._

_"Following vengeance with more vengeance isn't going to let this problem go away!"_

_"Who asked for your opinion, Princess?" Finch stood up, enraged. "You're nothing but Shepard's whore girlfriend that he brought along to see our hideout. You don't have a voice here with us!"_

_Jess's biotics flared and Finch was thrown into a wall. "Don't you _ever _call me a fucking whore!"_

_"Shepard, control this bitch. She's going to get us caught if she throws a tantrum in here." Will spoke before Zach's fist collided with his jaw._

_"Do not insult her, Will. She's right about vengeance. We can't fight fire with fire. Playing the batarians' game will only lead to war."_

_"Nobody asked for your opinion, Shepard." Jordan spoke before he was shocked by Tinker's omni-tool._

_"I agree with his opinion, Jordan. If you threaten my friend, you threaten me."_

_"Why, you son of a bitch!" Joseph began to walk towards Tinker before he felt both a knife at his throat and his pants. Behind him stood Flower, looking more like a dangerous assassin than a cheerful teenager._

_"If you dare try to harm him, I will cut your balls off before I slit your throat, bag them up, take a shuttle to Tuchunka, and sell them to a krogan battlemaster."_

_"Enough! All of you!" Lance roared as the group split apart; Finch, Will, Jordan and Joseph favoring war; Zach, Jess, Flower, and Tinker favoring peace._

_"It seems we're at a tie here." Finch quietly spoke, rubbing blood off of his mouth from the force of the impact._

_"It appears so." Zach agreed, rubbing the knuckles he punched Will with. He turned to face Lance. "You're the only one without an opinion, Lance. What do you think?"_

_"I'm not choosing a side on this argument. I agree with Jordan that a price must be paid by the terrorists that did this, but I agree with your friend that war is not the answer. And choosing a side in this argument will tear this group apart. So we're all going to drop this argument right now! Anyone who disagrees may kiss my fist as I swing it at your face!"_

_The groups dispersed as Lance went back to working out over with the weights. Finch and his group began to whisper to each other while Zach continued to talk with Tinker, who had just fixed the Nexus omni-tool._

_"I still think it should be yours. You found it."_

_Zach shrugged his shoulders. "I'll survive without it. I've done that my whole life."_

_Tinker then smiled. "Maybe I could give it to Flower as a gift."_

_Zach smiled as well. "That's the best idea you've come up with."_

_Jess watched from her viewpoint at the hammock as Zach and Tinker conversed. Flower then patted her on the shoulder. "Zach is a good guy. He brought Tinker and I in when we had nothing out on the streets. He's given us more than he gives himself."_

_"He's been good to me, too. My father doesn't know I obtained biotic potential, but his goons watch over everyone and everything. He's protected me from getting caught quite a few times; sometimes with bruises."_

_"He likes you, you know. I liked him once. But I'm not going to do anything about it, especially since I know Tinker has a thing for me. If he could muster up enough courage, I might start going out with him. But other than those two guys, I find myself attracted to turians."_

_"Really?" Jess's face curved up in a smile as she started giggling._

_"Yeah. I heard they're really good fighters, and they have perfect reach. If it doesn't work out between Tinker and I, I think I'll go out to the Citadel and get myself a turian boyfriend."_

_"You're crazy! How would that even work? They are of different biology, they don't appear to have lips, and wouldn't their entire body be scaly?"_

_"Come on, girl, don't tell me you've never tried to imagine getting into bed with a turian. I can see it by the way you're laughing." Flower then proceeded to pull out a magazine. "Don't tell me you've never thought of seeing a male turian out of his armor."_

_The image on the pages in front of them made the girls giggle._

_"What are they looking at?" Tinker asked._

_"Maybe it's better we don't know." Zach motioned Tinker to turn back around to their own conversation._

As Zach snapped back into reality, he shook his head over those old memories as he opened the door to walk into the bar. But just a few seconds later, he heard both a noise and a familiar voice.

"Commander Shepard, it has been far too long since we last spoke."

Zach turned around to that feminine voice and saw the snow-blonde hair of his old friend.

"Whose this, Shepard?" Kaidan asked.

"Kaidan, Ashley, this my friend Brittany Miller, but when I knew her, we called her Flower."

Brittany embraced Zach in a hug before she did her usual greeting, repeating this to both Ashley and Kaidan before stepping back.

"What the hell did she just do?" Ashley muttered as she wiped her lips from the experience.

"That was how she greeted all of her friends. It's nothing serious." Zach pointed towards her hair. "You cut your hair short. It used to be long when we were teens."

"Yes, well, I thought the split-ends look fit perfectly. After you left for Alliance training, I found my way to work for Calypso. They offered me a good job and I turned my life around. I'm also engaged to marry a fellow employee in the corporation."

"Congratulations, Brittany. Who is it?"

"It's kind of a complicated relationship, but I fell in love with a young turian over the course of three years working side by side. His job is more special and he is currently on the Citadel conducting business with C-Sec. Perhaps when you're done saving the galaxy, you could come to the wedding. It's only a small ceremony with friends, since both of our parents are dead. I'd be happy if you could join us."

"If I have time, I'll swing by. I wouldn't want to miss an old friend's big day."

"Thank you, Shepard. Now, if you're wondering what Finch is hiding, I'll tell you. Kurt Weisman had poisoned important medical supplies being sent to a turian colony that was close to the Sol system. My fiancé discovered Kurt's plan and captured him. He's now being charged as a terrorist."

"I suspected as much. Thanks. I'll warn the turian guard that trouble may be coming."

"Good. And Zach, don't worry about dealing with Finch if he tries to stop you. I've got a score to settle with him; a life for a life. One that he took that should never have been taken."

"I'd normally speak against it, but this is my only exception. Tinker was my friend, too."

Brittany smiled as she disappeared.

"Your name's Zach?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"It just doesn't seem to fit you."

"What would you rather have me named? John? Aidan? Maybe even Garrett?"

"Okay, I get it. I'm sorry I ever got into it. I'll stop now."

"Hey, Commander, who was this Tinker guy you mentioned?"

"He was a friend of mine back on Earth. Finch killed him. And I'm only letting Brittany kill him because Tinker was special to her. Let's go." Moving for the sake of Ashley's aching feet, they entered and saw both turians they needed to speak to. The first one stood up in the middle of the bar with the pin of a Citadel jailor on his jacket. The other was neck-deep in turian brandy.

"Can I help you?" The turian jailor spoke as Zach approached him.

"Yeah. I heard you have a prisoner named Kurt Weisman. A man named Finch wanted me to use my spectre status to get him out, however I know about Kurt's crime, so I'm giving you a warning in case Finch tries something."

"The xenophobe has friends? Thanks for the warning. We'll post more guards near his cell."

Finch walked up right behind Zach as he turned to face him. "I knew you'd rat us out, Shepard. Now it's our turn. When we're through telling our story, the whole galaxy will know what the first human spectre really is."

Zach crossed his arms, smirked, and shook his head. "Do you honestly think that anybody would believe that I am a xenophobe when I have four aliens onboard my ship helping me in my fight?"

"It could be a ruse, Shepard."

"Harboring a krogan and quarian is a ruse? They're some of the few other races that no species seems to hold any respect towards. And yet they are onboard my ship serving alongside me. Besides, I protected a turian ambassador from _you _and the members of the Reds that attempted to kill him. Do you really think anyone would believe I'm a xenophobe when I risked my life to save an alien?"

"Fine, Shepard. You're not one of the Reds. Maybe you never were." Finch walked away.

"That man is a xenophobe and a terrorist. You should've killed him." The jailor spoke.

Zach smiled. "Don't worry. He'll get what's coming to him. I promise you."

Back outside the club, Finch walked away from Chora's Den in a fury, determined to come up with some way to bust Kurt out. And when they succeeded, they would grab a bunch of mercenaries and kill everyone of Shepard's crew. He saw the two aliens in the news of his spectre inauguration. He'd save the three of them for last, slicing the turian's throat slowly. And the quarian would be-

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain in his side. As he looked down in horror, he saw a small blade through his rib. The one holding it was slowly revealed as her camoflague field dropped.

"That was for Tinker, you son of a bitch!" She whispered through gritted teeth next to his ear. She pulled out her knife and made a swift motion as the blade sank deep into his heart. "And that's for trying to poison my fiancé's colony world." She pulled the blade out again as he fell in a pool of his own blood. Wiping the blade off of Finch's pants, Brittany, who was once called Flower, walked away from the scene of the crime just before that same jailor found Finch's corpse and smiled.

Back in the bar, Zach stood over Septimus Oraka as he raised his aching head to see three soldiers before.

"Hmm, Commander Shepard." The turian mumbled. "What can I do for a fellow soldier."

"What's got you down, general?"

"I've seen a lot of horrible things in this galaxy, and there's only one thing that takes my mind off of it. Sha'ira has helped me get through a bunch of sleepless nights."

"So why are you running a smear campaign against her?" Kaidan asked.

"Because she rejected me! _Me! _Septimus Oraka, General of the turian fleet!"

"I understand you're upset, but there are better ways to handle something like this."

"Look, kid, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you shouldn't be wasting your time with me."

"General, no one has ever won a war moping in a bar."

"Ha, war! That's what this feels like. So, you think it's that simple: just straighten up and act like a general?"

"It damn well couldn't hurt." Kaidan snapped.

"You're right. Sha'ira's worth the effort even if she won't take me back. I'll apologize to her after I've had a cold shower or two." The general then took out a datapad. "Say, you're a bright kid. Want to make a few extra credits?"

"Depends on the job." Zach answered.

"There's an elcor dipomat on the Citadel that thinks Sha'ira revealed his secrets."

"Why's he think that?" Kaidan asked.

"Because I told him. Look, you only need to find him in the embassies and show him this datapad that shows where I got his information. It'll clear up his disputes against her."

"Sure thing. We can handle that before meeting up with her."

"Can we at least take a cab this time?" Ashley groaned.

"As long as you pay for it." Zach smiled as he took the datapad from Septimus.

"Oh, son of a bitch." She continued to groan as they walked out of the bar.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, that flashback has put me a little behind schedule, but I only had plans for the next chapter to be Shepard and Stark's first reunion, so I'm going to shove the other two Citadel things (one canon, one non-canon) within that chapter as well to get it out of the way. I'm not going to rush it, however, as that would ruin the story, but I'll tell you that The Stranger will speak to Tali a bit more, which will lead her a little closer to trying to help Zach get over his problems, which in turn will lead to a spark in their relationship by the end of Resolution. I'd also like to mention that Brittany Miller is going to be the name of my N7 Shadow whenever I unlock her (I've only got the N7 Fury, Demolisher, and Paladin so far [I laugh at the Paladin's shortness as he holds the N7 Valkyrie]) and her turian fiancé is the soldier from the game, but I forgot his name and with my XBOX still not working I have no way of checking it out. So it may be a while before his name is revealed. As for Brittany's and Jessica's chat about turians, it's a reference to how Jessica Shepard romances Garrus.

Anyways, shoutout to Bud89, ProjektNemesis7 (who returned shortly from a bunch of college exams to review chapter 16. Great to see you again, Nemesis!), Admiral Anderson, and a shoutout to fellow Mass Effect fanfic writer Machinist's Guardian Archangel, who is perhaps the reason this chapter came out later than expected. I was so busy reading his fanfiction about his infiltrator Aaron and his relationship with Tali that I lost some time to write. But trust me when I say his work is 'totally worth it.'

Anyway, I'm going to go now. Reviews, people!


	21. Chapter 20: I Remember Me

Chapter 20: I Remember Me

As the cab Ashley was so desperate to hire parked in the embassies, Ashley felt sad that she had to leave the comfortable seat of the sleek red car. She paid the man what she owed and stepped out of the vehicle.

"Took you long enough, Williams."

Ashley's head poked up to see that both Shepard and Kaidan were right in front of her. She remembered they decided to let her take a cab because she was so tired from so much walking, but there was no way in hell they could've gotten here before her by just walking.

"How the hell did you get here before me?"

Shepard smiled. "We walked." He then headed off to the elcor embassy.

"What he means is 'the distance to the elevator that led to the presidium was much shorter than we originally thought, so we got here faster after hacking the elevators to move faster.'" Kaidan smiled as he followed Shepard.

"How can you stand all of this walking, LT?" Ashley asked as she tried to catch up to them.

"I did a lot of jogging in Vancouver. There were days when I jogged across the entire city with my dad. It was some time after I joined the Alliance. After a while, your feet get used to it."

"What about you, Commander? What's up with all of this walking?"

"After running from cops just for taking a loaf of bread, running from thresher maws on Akuze, running along Stark's trail of blood on Torfan, and every other mission known to date, I've enjoyed every moment I spent walking. I can't stand it if I get shin-splits and the taste of blood in my mouth much anymore. But walking is easy. It keeps me fit, too, considering the size of this place."

"I take it your life on Earth wasn't marvellous."

"Not as marvellous as Kaidan's, no. I had to steal from the rich in order to survive, and the only teachers I ever had were a priest, a girl my age, and the streets of Metropolis."

"Where's Metropolis?"

"Nowhere now. All I can really tell you now is that is was close to Vancouver, and it was in America. The entire city got destroyed in a bloody civil war between the rich and the poor." He reached the door of the elcor embassy. "It's all in the past now."

Ashley rubbed her foot before she entered herself. There were two massive elcor in the room with a volus, and all of them were bickering about either The Consort or humanity. The room silenced when they noticed the three soldiers.

"I'm looking for an elcor named Xeltan."

"Annoyed: I am Xeltan," the elcor closest to him spoke. "and I do not have time for talking human. I am busy working on a campaign against The Consort, who has revealed my secrets to a turian general named Septimus."

"That's what Septimus wanted you to think. Kaidan?"

Kaidan stepped up to Xeltan with the datapad from earlier. "Septimus gave us a datapad that shows how he really got the information, and he apologizes for dragging you into his game. He was merely having 'woman troubles.'"

Ashley and Shepard smirked at that comment.

"Confused: how could this have been possible? Dismayed: The Consort is not going to be happy about this. I must apologize for my actions. Regrettably: I must take my leave of you, human, and make a call." And the elcor left the others behind.

"Relieved: Thank you, human for helping Xeltan." The other elcor spoke. "Approving: you see, Din, not all humans are as you say."

The volus in the room snorted. "I'm sure the human stands to make a profit off of this somehow."

"We were payed beforehand. We'll be leaving now." As Shepard turned for the door, Kaidan smiled to himself.

"What?" Ashley asked, a blank stare on his face.

"All of this happened just because a woman rejected a man."

And for once, Ashley found herself smiling over that fact.

Over at the relay statue on the presidium, Liara, Garrus, and Tali relaxed as they viewed the ancient relic. After dropping off their supplies with Wrex onboard the Normandy, they took a cab to the presidium to explore and relax before they continued to head out and continue hunting Saren.

But it wasn't the view of the presidium Garrus was interested in.

He had his eyes on Liara. Not just because the Commander, who showed he was in no position to want a relationship with Liara, told him to watch her, but because he wanted to. He found her own beauty more attractive than anything or anyone onboard the presidium. And he found her work on the protheans interesting.

"This statue was here when the asari first discovered the Citadel, you know." Liara spoke calmly, a smile crept on her face. "Some believe the protheans built this as a gift to the future civilizations to honor the technologies of the past."

"That sounds very interesting."

"Yes, well, that's only a theory onboard the Citadel." She sighed. "I love the presidium. It's the only place that feels so peaceful here."

"It'd be a whole lot better if we threw out the politicians. They're so focused on their own goals, they don't take the chance to admire the view."

"Perhaps." She then looked at the water. Garrus looked as well, and saw Liara's eyes were close to tears.

"What's wrong?"

"I've been thinking a lot about my mother. I just can't understand it. Why would Benezia work with Saren? She was always about doing the right thing, not about attacking human colonies and working with the geth. And Tali played that audio recording she recovered. Her voice was so evil it didn't seem like she was herself anymore."

Garrus stretched out his hand and placed it on top of her's. "Liara, we'll get to the bottom of this. Maybe your mother was trying something like talking Saren down, but then got caught in his game. Whatever happened, Shepard will figure this out, and he'll try to talk her down."

"But what if he can't? What if my mother's gone and replaced with a monster or a slave to Saren?"

"Then you know what we may be forced to do. But I know Shepard. He'll only consider that option as a last resort. It's not something I'd agree to, but it's what you'd want."

"Thanks, Garrus, I think. I feel better."

They stared at each other for a second before they were interrupted by the sound of a volus filter.

"There's the suit rat that snuck aboard one of my cargo ships. Arrest her."

Garrus snapped back into action as he saw Chellick alongside a volus walking towards Tali.

"Hold on, Chellick! What's going on?"

"Garrus?" The other turian looked at his friend. "I was told by Mr. Elkoss this quarian was a criminal that snuck aboard one of his supply transports. I've been ordered to take her into custody."

"Tali is a member of Commamder Shepard's team. She's helping him and I catch that bastard, Saren."

"Preposterous." Mr. Elkoss snorted. "A suit rat would not be allowed to join a spectre onboard his ship."

"When Shepard hears you called her that, there's going to be size thirteen boot up your ass."

"How dare you slander me with your filth, turian. Officer, arrest them both."

"Now hold on, Mr. Elkoss." Chellick assured him. "Garrus, because we are friends, I'm going to give you a chance to call up Commander Shepard. If he's not here within five minutes or he says the quarian is not a member onboard his ship, I'm afraid I'll have to take her into custody."

"I assure you, he'll be here within a minute." Garrus then reached for his earpiece, hoping the Commander would be here in time to stop this.

Back in The Consort's chambers, Zach was walking out after recieving his rewards. Sha'ira had granted him with a small trinket that appeared to be of prothean design, and she had offered a gift of words that had actually explained who he was from the clues of the past. She said the message was to prepare him for his future, but he had found that to be a waste of time. He seriously didn't believe his life on Earth had turned him into a strong warrior that ensured his survival on Akuze and will ensure his success against Saren.

If he had actually paid to see her, he'd want his money back.

_"Shepard,"_ Zach heard from his earpiece the familiar voice of Garrus. _"Come in Shepard! It's important!"_

"This is Shepard. Go ahead, Garrus."

_"We've got a situation. There's a volus asshole here trying to have Tali arrested. He says she was onboard one of his ships illegally. Thankfully, the officer he brought with him is a friend of mine, so he's giving you five minutes to claim Tali before he takes her into custody."_

"Where are you now?"

_"We're at the relay statue on the presidium. I hope you're not too far away."_

"We're on our way! Tell them to hold on! Shepard out!" He moved his hand away from the earpiece and began to run down the stairs.

"Shepard, what's going on?" Kaidan asked as he noticed him running.

"Tali's in trouble with the law! We gotta go. Double time!"

"Time to rumble!" Kaidan cheerfully agreed as he started to jog along with him.

Ashley just stood there dumbfounded. Even after walking all around most of the Citadel for more than an hour, they still had the energy and lack of aching feet to run along the Presidium. And here she was, sitting down on the sofa rubbing her own feet because they were aching in her combat boot.

"I swear to God, I'm going to kill him when we get back onboard the ship."

Barla Von sat patiently in his office as he waited for the results of his search on the traffic reports of the Sparta system. Whenever they got results, he was to set a meeting up with Admiral Kahouku in order to name the price of this information. His guard yet again cringed at the sound of his breathing, but he was too bored to do anything about it.

He never expected the door would open and reveal one of the Broker's infiltrators being hurdled at his guard by a massive krogan in the familiar blue and gold armor of a Calypso major.

"Special delivery, punks." The massive krogan spoke harshly before moving to the side to allow a human and a drell to proceed inside. Both of them were wearing black suits, although the drell's had dark blue patterns on it. The human's suit looked more traditional than modern; a black overcoat buttoned across his chest that had ends continue to his knees. Knowing Calypso had special projects, the coat may have been uniquely designed to allow the wearer to glide down safely from a very high height. The pistol on his side was also of a unique design that no current vendor was selling. Most pistols are of the Predator and Carnifax model, but his was neither of them.

"Good evening, Mr. Von."

"Klaus. My employer has heard a lot about you. Had you been recruited into the Broker's ranks, you would've made an outstanding commando for his army."

"Calypso pays much better than the Broker ever could. Besides, this meeting today shows that he has failed yet again. We caught him trying to steal some of Calypso's best kept secrets. So we've given you back your agent 'relatively' unharmed," Klaus stared at the krogan, who smirked. "so your employer can decide what to do with him. Rest assured, we did not interrogate him for any information. He doesn't know anything The Stranger doesn't know himself."

"Next time you send your men into our base, and he won't come back to you in one piece." The krogan growled.

"Now, now, Zedge. Not until the Broker shoots first. It's not like he can kill you with one shot now."

Zedge found himself growling at Klaus, but since he was one of a select few that truly knew what he was, he backed down, understanding that Calypso must keep a positive image in order to gain allies. "I wait patiently for that day."

"We must depart now, Mr. Von. It has been fun meeting you." Klaus turned around and headed out the door. The krogan grinned at the volus before following, and the drell stayed quiet about everything as he followed last.

As Klaus walked out the door, he saw a white-armored figure crash into his solid form.

"Sorry." The soldier exclaimed as he kept running past him, making the eyes of The Stranger appear.

"Shepard." Klaus spoke as he saw him run up to a small group near the relay statue. His lieutenant followed after, and from afar, he could see the chief walking slowly, complaining about her aching feet. Snapping back into action, he pointed at the drell. "Tyr, go to the location where we tracked that disturbance and let Live Wire handle capturing it. Zedge, check on operative Miller and see if she has returned from her work."

"And you'll be where?"

"I have business to attend to elsewhere. Go on, now. Do your work."

The drell and krogan stared at each other before they headed out. Tyr immediately disappeared through a small alley past a hanar shopkeeper. Zedge proceeded across a bridge to go to the wards. And Klaus found a quiet shady spot where no one could see him as The Stranger changed his form from the secret operative of Calypso to a cleaner, less bruised form of the young man on Illium he had portrayed days ago. The only thing he had not come up with for this form yet was the name, although he had an idea to name it off of a man who lost all of his friends to war, with the exception of a babbling fool that saved Earth when he set a large ship with an invading army to self-destruct and escaped nearly unharmed in a small ship. It would also fit given how he had a similar babbling fool that served him. The Stranger had to smile at that connection.

However, he frowned when he remembered that the same man lost a woman he once loved named Jess.

It seemed to be a curse to remember how both that man and Commander Shepard were very similar to him in that they lost that woman named Jess. It made him remember his birth, as his master had tasked him with destroying _her _in order to protect the realms. He remembered how he saw her in the car with _him _and how he had set up the trap that would end their lives. He let that car burn and explode as they died in agony.

But he didn't let the unborn child die. Not like his master ordered.

The child had been granted a new life; a loving but puzzled mother, a protective sister, and she was to be bound to the most important guardian of this branch of reality who would have to rely on her strength as much as his own. He even told her the truth about what he had done and begged her pardon when she came of age. And, somehow, she understood. She didn't condemn him for performing his duty as he explained to her _everything_ in the hopes that she would not hate him as much as he hated himself every time he was forced to kill the broken iris since. She didn't call him a murderer when all he did was protect her when his master could not in his own reality. All she asked was to see the face of her real mother.

He couldn't promise her she ever would. And that wounded him.

As his form flashed, he returned to the fact that he had a job to do. The past needed to rest, and even thinking about it brought him closer to harm. He approached the crowd and waited patiently for the trouble to be over.

"What's going on here?" Zach asked as he slowed down near Garrus.

"Good. You're here faster than I thought you'd be."

"It was only a short jog. Now what's going on?"

"These turians refuses to allow me to have this suit rat arrested." The volus pointed at Garrus and another turian.

"I allowed Garrus five minutes to have you come here to settle this matter, Commander Shepard. He states that the quarian is part of your crew."

Zach looked over to Tali, who appared to be scared of the consequences should he say 'no.' "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is not only a member of my crew, but she is my friend who secured my position into the spectres." He kneeled down towards the volus. "And you have the balls to insult her and me." His face formed into the mask he wore so well back on Earth. "Who do you think you are?"

The volus took a gulp of air. "Rupe Elkoss, owner of Elkoss Combine, at your service."

"Mr. Elkoss, I'm going to give you five seconds to apologize to Miss Zorah before I make a new permanent hole in your protective suit."

Mr. Elkoss froze in place. "Oh, shit." He breathed and looked up at Tali. "I apologize for my earlier rude comments. I had no idea you really were a part of the first human spectre's crew." He looked back at Zach. "And to show my sincerest apologies to you, Commander, I offer you a seventy-five percent discount on an Elkoss Combine liscense so you may have some of the best equipment my organization has to offer in your hunt against the geth."

"You've got a deal." Zach sent a credit transfer over to Mr. Elkoss as he sent him the liscense. "Thank you for your business, Mr. Elkoss. I hope the next time we meet, we are not meeting on terrible circumstances such as this."

"Of course." Mr. Elkoss began to walk away. "And Ms. Zorah, don't ever let me catch you on any of my ships again."

"Believe me when I say the Commander could give me a better first-class ride than you could, Mr. Elkoss." Tali snapped.

The volus snorted as he ran away, intent on avoiding the wrath of the first human spectre.

"That was unexpected, Shepard." Tali spoke. "I never expected you could be so intimidating. I almost believed you were going to rip his suit in half."

"Honestly, that's just a ruse. Even if he deserved it, I wasn't going to rip his suit open. I'd kick his ass, of course, but I wouldn't do something like that."

"Well, thanks." She smiled behind her helmet, but Zach knew she was doing that even without seeing her face.

"What'd I miss?" Ashley asked, appearing out of nowhere as Kaidan began laughing behind Zach.

"What'd you do, Williams? Walk? Shepard just made a volus crap his suit for calling Tali a suit rat."

"Damn! I already knew the Commander was dangerous, but-"

"That's not even the best part! It was Mr. Elkoss of Elkoss Combine!"

"Seriously?!"

"Seriously!"

"What are you guys? Teenagers?" Zach found himself laughing at his friends' banter.

That shut them up instantly.

"Well, Garrus, I'd better get back to work. Take care of yourself out there." Chellick shook the hand of his friend.

"You, too, Chellick."

"And Garrus," he handed him a box. "Don't tell the executor I gave this to you." The other turian walked away.

Garrus stared at the box for a few seconds before Zach took notice. "What's that, Garrus?"

"Just a parting gift from my friend."

"What's in it?"

"I don't know yet. I'll open it on the ship and see what it is."

Zach didn't believe Garrus's lie. He could tell Garrus knew exactly what it was, but he decided to drop it for a later time.

"Tali'Zorah?" Zach heard an unfamiliar voice and turned to see a teenager with black hair and blue eyes in front of him.

Tali turned towards that voice to see who it was. "It's you! You're that boy on Illium that saved my life!"

"In the flesh." The boy extended his arms out and Tali embraced him in a quick hug.

"Uh, Tali, who is this?" Zach asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"This is the boy who saved my life on Illium. He killed five of Saren's thugs using his biotics. He never really told me his name, though."

"And I apologize for that, Ms. Zorah, but time was of the essence then. I guess now is a great time to introduce myself, given that I am also meeting your new captain." The boy spoke as he backed away from Tali as their hug released. "My name is Joshua. Joshua Letterman."

"Well, Joshua, you'll have to tell me how you managed to take on five thugs by yourself." Zach grinned.

"It wasn't that hard. A quick show of biotics, a few menacing words, and only one bullet. I even took a batarian's knife and stabbed him in his chest."

"Really? We could sure use someone like you in the Alliance."

"Maybe one day. But for now, I'm helping with Calypso in their study of biotic potential in humans." Joshua turned to Tali. "Tali, if it's all right with your Commander, I would like to speak with you alone for a moment. There's a few things I'd like to talk about before you leave again."

"Shepard?" Tali turned towards Zach, who was considering it.

"Go ahead. We'll wait by the benches. Williams needs to let her feet breathe." He smiled as he heard Ashley sigh with relief.

Tali nodded her appreciation as the group left for the benches, leaving her alone with Joshua. She leaned on the railing as she stared at the water. "So, how's your mother doing, now that you're gone?"

"I haven't actually been honest with you, Tali." Joshua spoke. "Calypso had hired me to get you off of Illium. They knew that you would not be safe there, so I was sent to make sure you were protected."

Tali cocked your head. "How would they know I would not be safe on Illium?"

"Calypso has eyes on everyone. Our mandate is to protect the galaxy from any and all who threaten galactic balance. Finding you and everyone else involved in this situation was rather easy. However, our methods in obtaining our information are classified to avoid them from falling into the wrong hands."

"And your bruises?"

"I actually did get in a skirmish. I was running a training exercise against a turian. We roughed each other up pretty badly."

"And your biotics?"

"They weren't buffed up by Calypso, if that's what you're asking. It's natural biotic power. I had trained long and hard to perfect those abilities."

"So why the secrecy?"

"That's what Calypso's mainly about. We don't need to have the council knowing we're building something great to ensure the galaxy will be well-protected. Once the curtain falls, we'll make ourselves known. For now, all you need to know is that we'll be watching over those of the Normandy crew," Joshua turned to face Zach. "but we won't be able to help your guardian fix himself."

Tali turned to where Joshua looked. She saw Shepard standing alone; the rest of his crew sitting on the benches. His eyes seemed to be sad still, as if this one free moment he has is sending him into a past memory that was unpleasent. His fingers beat alongside his thigh in a kind of rhythm Tali had never heard before.

"Wait, you're not suggesting Shepard is my 'guardian', are you?" Tali's eyes could be seen getting narrow under her helmet.

"I'm not suggesting it. I know. He saved your life in that alley because fate has chosen him to protect you from danger."

"But you spoke of daughters passing on my beauty. Isn't it impossible for dextro-based life to have a child with levo-based life?"

"You know, there's a short story on the extranet a young, inspiring author wrote about a human that fell in love with an alien because the alien possessed two souls: one of her kind, and another of a human female that was raped and killed by a demon."

"Aren't demons just from Shepard's religious text?" Tali asked.

"Yes, but the author wrote of some alternate reality that states that angels created alien species or machines in defiance to God. But let me continue about the girl. She carried those two souls within her body for twenty-five years until she fell in love with the human. He had rescued her from meeting a terrible fate, such as yourself, and to repay him, she offered to join his quest. They travelled together for a time as the human soul began to learn about him and the alien soul began to respect him. Even after a holy warrior of God began to join their endeavors warning the human that such a bond was incredibly frowned upon, he still communicated with her and even convinced the warrior to respect her for who her own creator made her."

"Who was her creator?"

"The author of the story has it written down as an archangel named Calvin. The human even met her creator when her creator had accused her of being disloyal to her people being away from them for so long. The human spoke for her at a meeting on her home world, even bringing the warrior, who promised to behave in front of the 'abominations.' Calvin decided to test them in a maze that had the power to reveal their fate. The alien believed that the horror she saw that would befall the human would be her fault, but the warrior knew the maze was a trick because of what he saw, which stated he would be given back a relic stolen from him by the thief. He knew the thief would not hand back a precious weapon so willingly, given the thief's true nature. When they returned, the human did not say what it was she truly saw, but rather convinced her people that she was meant to bring good fortune in his quest."

"You still haven't actually said what the quest was that this human was on, or how they travelled."

"That's because I don't want to give it away. Anyway, her creator gave in and allowed her to continue to aid the human. That's when both souls; human and alien, began to fall in love with him. When she finally realized it, she revealed her true feelings to him, saying she would understand if he didn't feel the same way. But he returned her love passionately, and the warrior allowed them to wed, saying they better make sure the judgement from the galaxy was worth their bond. Eventually, when his quest came to an end, he needed to gather the races of the galaxy to aid him in defeating a dark threat. That meant gaining Calvin's aid. The alien returned to her home world only to discover that Calvin had been captured by the threat. When her bondmate came to aid, it took a lot of sacrifice to save Calvin, including the life of her biological father. But Calvin learned the truth as she brought him up from his prison and attempted to kill her. Had her bondmate not had a way with words she would've been dead. Calvin claimed she was unloyal to him and deserved to die, but the other man claimed that everything she had done was for Calvin, including her marriage to the human. He also said if Calvin killed her, he would be just as broken as himself over her loss. In that realization, he put her down and begged her pardon, swearing allegiance to them to aid the war. I won't spoil anything else beyond that, but I will say that once everything was over, a stranger approached the man and offered a deal: if he aided him in tracking down and killing a demon, he would grant the man with anything he desired. The man asked in return for his services some way to have a child with his wife. When the deed was done, the stranger gave him as he promised a chance to have one child that was of both their flesh. The story had a sequel about their daughter just recently. I'll send you the links to both of the stories." Joshua tapped a few buttons on his omni-tool and sent the links to Tali's own.

"So what does that story have to do with Shepard and I?"

"You must have noticed some strange signs, Tali: a delightful feeling crawling down your skin, a sense of peace as he held your hand, your heart quivering as you see him smile at you. Those same signs happen in the story I just told you. It's different from your life, but it's quite similar as well."

Tali backed away. "You've kind of gone creepy on me. How do you know all of this stuff?"

"The one that leads Calypso has taught me a lot of things. I know that you obviously have a crush on the Commander, that he sees you as a victim just for being a quarian, and that the man has been incredibly wounded by the past. He needs someone like you to help him now. Eventually, he'll fall in love with you, and you can find a way to have a future together."

"I doubt that would ever be true."

"You may doubt all you wish. That just makes the day it happens better."

"Fine. If I'm able to help him, how should I do it?"

"Talk to him, learn his strengths and weaknesses, support him when he needs your opinion. Even the smallest act of kindness like holding his hand makes his resolve stronger. It is all you can do as you are now."

Tali looked again at Shepard, still trapped in his sad form as the others conversed with each other. "If he dies during our mission, what happens then? Would I fail him? Would I fail myself?"

"If he dies or goes missing, Calypso would do everything in its power to save him. The galaxy has need of him now, and it will need him again soon. As for you, you would have to find the resolve within yourself to hold onto hope that you can help him, and the hope that he may feel the same way for you. Drawing strength from your friends would help you as well, but I'm positive Shepard will strengthen you the most." Joshua looked at his omni-tool. "I've wasted too much time. You have a galaxy to save, and I really should get going."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Perhaps. Time is a force that makes all things possible." He began to walk away.

"Wait. One last question, Joshua. Your boss, whoever he is, how does he know so much about Shepard's problem?"

"As I said, he watches over everything, and he saw the signs. He knows a broken heart when he sees it. It took his own heart to be broken to understand when someone is suffering, and the individual who can help him pull himself together."

Tali watched silently as Joshua walked away, turning herself to walk back to Shepard. She could see it in his eyes he still was sad. If only she knew how to help him.

She only knew one way.

"Okay, Shepard." Tali spoke as she approached him. "I'm all set to go."

"Okay. Let's get moving." Zach watched as the group got up from their seats; Ashley taking so long because she still complained about her aching feet. He started walking ahead of the group, but suddenly felt a hand interlocking with his own. He looked down to see Tali's hand holding his own. "What are you doing?"

"We're on the presidium." Tali giggled. "Let's give the politicians something to laugh about."

Zach smiled as he adjusted his grip on her hand so they could be comfortable as they walked.

Ashley's eyes began to flare.

_What the hell are they doing?! _Ashley could not believe it, but a feeling of jealousy was overwhelming her. The captain had already stated he wasn't interested, but was it because he was interested in Tali? The girl biology would not cooperate with? It just didn't make sense! Her fist tightened and the ache in her feet became bearable as she focused only on jealousy.

The elevator ride down to C-Sec was quiet, even for Garrus, who probably would've cracked a joke by now. Zach felt comfortable with Tali's hand in his grasp, but he couldn't shake the feeling something bad was about to happen.

When the elevator door opened, he was right.

Stark saw Shepard on the elevator coming down from the presidium, and the anger returned. The day he went to the morgue to see his brother dead on the table was the saddest day of his life, and when he found out Shepard was responsible, he nearly went on a rampage. He still remembered the day he tried to claim vengeance with his knife but failed because the bitch wouldn't let him. And now, as he tries to pull his life around, Shepard comes and ruins everything he worked for to get better.

"Stark." Zach spoke as he saw his old friend.

"Well, well, Spectre Shepard is here to ruin the fun for me. I was just starting to move on with my life finally, but now you're here, holding the hand of the quarian that I saved first."

Zach felt Tali release his hand, and he did the same for her as he stepped up. "Stark, I understand that you're still upset about everything, but I would've thought you had adjusted by now."

"The only thing I've adjusted to is the fact I have an asari girlfriend and that you're a spectre, which means I can't harm you at all."

"And yet you can harm me on Torfan?"

"Torfan, as you know was a different story. Yet, somehow, it was enough to have me be promoted to N7 because there was someone crazy enough to recommend me. So why did you do it, Shepard? As a way to ask for my forgiveness for hurting me? For taking away one of the last few things I loved?"

"I told you a million times it was an accident."

"Bullshit. I won't listen to your lies anymore. Neither should your crew."

Before anybody else could get off another word, the elevator to the Normandy's landing bay came down with four men on it; two of them being C-Sec officers while the other two were the brothers Zach saw in Dr. Michel's office last time.

"Excuse me," One C-Sec officer spoke. "I'm Lieutenant Girard. This is Officer Peterson, and Ethan and Shawn Spier. We have a situation within the docking bay, and unfortunately we could not handle it ourselves."

"What's going on?" Zach spoke at the same exact time as Stark.

"There is a young girl hiding within your clutter of supply crates. She threatening to shoot herself, and she keeps muttering things about death and ruin. Ethan is well known to be a charismatic fellow on the Citadel, but he didn't have the best of luck calming her down."

"We have a sniper on watch in case she tries something like firing at people." The bald C-Sec officer named Peterson explained. "But we would like to knock her out with a sedative so we may take her to physical therapy at a special hospital."

"I can try to talk her down." Zach stated.

"No, Shepard." Stark interjected. "This one's mine. I'll get the little girl to take her medicine."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"You're busy saving the galaxy. I'll deal with this."

"We need somebody to stop her. It doesn't matter who." Peterson answered.

"Fine, Stark." Zach agreed. "You can take this one." Zach and his crew entered the elevator with the other men. Stark and Zach were separated by Tali, who was hoping a conflict would not start between the two. As the elevator ascended, Zach thought back to Robert's final day. He had apologized numerous times to Stark about it, but the man never budged. It saddened him that he lost a good friend because of one slight miscalculation. It saddened him even more that he lost a friend because of their anger.

The elevator stopped and Lieutenant Girard pulled out a small tube. "This is a sedative that will put her to sleep for about three hours. Just convince her to take it, and we can take her to someone who can help her." He handed it to Stark, who grinned.

"This'll be like taking candy from a baby." He began to walk towards the spot that the girl was in.

"Hey, Ethan, what do you think will happen when she sees him?" Shawn asked his brother behind Garrus.

"He's probably going to get shot. He's the Butcher of Torfan. I felt uncomfortable sharing an elevator with him." Ethan proposed.

"Shut up." Garrus responded. "Just wait and see."

Stark reached the crate where he heard the girl muttering to herself. He bent down to see her gripping the pistol tightly. Her hair had been cut incredibly short to be a buzz cut, and tears streamed down her face.

"She shouldn't have done that." She muttered. "She shouldn't have killed them. Her masters had been pleased with her. She was exactly what they wanted her to be. Why did she kill them?"

Stark shook his head. "Looks like she's suffering from Stockholm's Syndrome!" He shouted to the others. "She's muttering about how she killed her masters, though! Doesn't seem right." He turned back to face her and finally got a real glimpse at her eyes.

They were his mother's.

His breath caught in his chest. _Impossible. Could it really be her? After thirteen years, I never dreamed..._

"Talitha?" He spoke softly.

Talitha cocked her head towards the man in front of her. "No! Don't let her remember! Don't let her see the death! So many ashes! So many bodies! So much screaming and bleeding and pain!"

"Talitha, it's me!" Stark pleaded. "It's Henry! I'm your brother!"

"Brother? No! The pain! The death! I can see it in your eyes!" She pointed at him. "We're monsters, you and I! Monsters! You killed so many! I can see it in your eyes! I killed my masters! I don't know how! I don't know why! I just did! I'm a monster!"

"Talitha, listen to me! You're not a monster. You're an innocent."

"Innocent." She calmed down for a second before the memories tried to flood back in. She screamed as death filled her head again.

Stark felt a tear stroking his face over the sight of his sister. She was broken by her masters; tortured, beaten, and abused so much that she could no longer grasp a happy moment of her childhood innocence. Talitha had been the only good thing about Mindoir, and now she herself didn't try to remember it.

In one desperate attempt to help her, he began to sing.

' I found a note with your name and a picture of us even though it was framed and covered in dust. It's the map in my mind that sends me on my way.

They say it's never too late to stop being afraid. And there is no one else here so why should I wait? And in the blink of an eye the past begins to fade.'

Talitha seemed to calm down again, so Stark continued to sing.

'So have you ever been caught in a sea of despair? And your moment of truth is the day that you say "I'm not scared?"'

Talitha lowered her gun.

'Put your hands in the air If you hear me out there. I've been looking for you day and night. Shine a light in the dark, let me see where you are 'cause I'm not gonna leave you behind. If I told you that you're not alone and I show you this is where you belong put your hands in the air one more time.'

As tears continued to stream down her face, she shivered and faced her brother again, finally remembering something good from her past. "Henry," She cried. "what has happened to us?"

"We've changed. For better or worse, Talitha." He held out the sedative. "But we can be ourselves again. All you need to do is take this and we can help you."

Talitha stared at it. "That will put me to sleep, won't it?"

"Yes."

"Will I have nightmares?"

Stark came closer to his sister and hugged her. "No. You'll dream of a happy place, and when you wake up, you'll be in it, and I'll be by your side."

"Okay." She took the sedative quickly. "I want to remember her; the good life she had. I want to remember-" She stopped for a second, showing the sedative was working. "I remember me."

Stark picked up Talitha and she fell asleep in his arms, looking peacefully sound.

"Is it over?" Lieutenant Girard asked.

"Yes." Stark choked, sobbing uncontrollably. "Talitha's safe, now. My sister is safe."

"Congradulations, Stark." Zach whispered. "You deserve to have her back in your life."

"Shepard, if you actually want me to drop my grudges against you, stay away from me a little longer." Stark stared at him. "I'm not ready to grant you forgiveness. But I will grant you this: you have my thanks for letting me find her again."

"For now, Stark, that will be enough. Go in peace, and may God be with you both as you recover."

Stark walked away past the crew that was returning to the ship. Tali stood there a little longer, but spoke out to Stark.

"Stark, I forgot to thank you for saving me from that assassin a few days ago."

Stark entered the elevator with the officers and the two brothers. "You're welcome, Miss-"

"My name's Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"You're welcome, Tali." The elevator door closed and Tali lowered her head as she entered the ship.

Zach saw Tali's movement back into the ship and became somewhat puzzled. Was she affected by Stark's startling revelation as he became reunited with his sister? She seemed to be feeling blue by her body language; her steps seemed to be dragged, her hands dropped low, and her face not looking up. Perhaps he could ask her about it once Joker got the ship moving.

He walked through the airlock and let the decontamination process take him away.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, after having one of the worst days of my life coming into work when I was supposed to have the day off and having so many things screw up, I wanted- no, I needed to finish this chapter for you guys. I had been planning this chapter for so long, I wanted to release it from my mind and let you guys see what I had imagined as Shepard's and Stark's first reunion in years. A few things I'll point out is that more of The Stranger's back story was fleshed out in this chapter so you may see there is a darker tone around him. Also, the story he told to Tali will be touched upon again later in the legacy, but I won't spoil when. Finally, I'd like to randomly point out that when I finally reached the part with Stark and his sister, I found myself close to tears as I placed in the lyrics to Unity by Shinedown. I felt that Stark singing that song would fit very well to the struggle both members of the Stark family are facing. I find it to be such a tragedy that Talitha had to endure what she did in the game, and I find it a tragedy to people in real life that are subjected in that matter.

Shoutout to Bud89, Admiral Anderson, and I might be forgetting someone...


	22. Chapter 21: Missing What's Gone

Chapter 21: Missing What's Gone

Admiral Kahouku entered the office of Barla Von carefully, knowing that anyone could be watching him. The banker snorted amusingly as the admiral walked to his desk.

"Do you have the data?"

"Of course, although the cost of the information is much different from the usual payment."

"Name your price."

"We know that you are going to investigate this lead, and we believe that you will obtain valuable information on the group responsible. All we ask in return is that you share this information with our employer."

"Fine. Who was responsible?"

"A group called Cerberus. They were once a black ops organization for your Alliance. Records indicate that they landed on the planet last week. They were the ones that set up the beacon."

"Did you obtain any clues as to where they may be hiding?"

"Unfortunately, we only obtained the location of a few research stations on Binthu. But they could lead to other bases ripe with information. That is all we can provide, Admiral."

"When I'm done with the investigation, I'll send any related files your way."

"Excellent. We hope to hear from you again soon. Good day, Admiral."

Kahouku bowed to the volus and walked away. He immediately headed to his personal shuttle before noticing two men following him. One was a human while the other was a drell. Both had pistols on their side. Only a second after noticing this, the drell was gone. Kahouku began to become nervous as he got closer to his ship. The man behind him began to draw his gun before the drell appeared out of nowhere to kick the gun away from him. The gunshot got Kahouku to turn as he saw the drell in hand-to-hand combat with the human.

"Get out of here, Admiral!" The drell yelled. "This man is here to kill you!"

The other man dived for his gun and took point at the admiral, cursing when his gun jammed. The drell smiled and pulled the man up with his biotics as Kahouku took the time to run.

"Well, looks like you failed. The Admiral is about to escape, and you're about to die."

"Fuck you, alien!" The man spat. "Cerberus does not appreciate your influence on humanity."

"Cerberus has only brought this on themselves. All of your xenophobic members have made quite a mess on Calypso's operations. And you're too stubborn to work with us just because Calypso became stronger with alien influences."

_"They set themselves on their own path." _The Stranger appeared in his masked form. _"It seems we are destined to be enemies with the other powers of the universe: Cerberus, the Shadow Broker, the Reapers. How will we be able to influence future events to ensure we can be allies?"_

"Who the fuck are you?" The man replied.

_"That is not your concern. In fact, you shouldn't be concerned about anything except why your omni-tool is blinking like that."_

The man looked down to see his omni-tool was blinking rapidly, signifying that it was going to overload its systems and self-destruct. The man began to move frantically as he attempted to remove the device, but to no avail as the drell's biotics began to push his arms and legs closer to his body. He tried to scream, but nothing came out of his lips. It wasn't before long that the explosion that ended his life arrived, but even that became caught by the biotic field the drell had put up.

Tyr folded his hands together and bowed his head, but didn't begin to pray because of the yellow glow next to him.

_"THAT WAS AWESOME!" _The A.I. known as Live Wire brought up his holographic image, which hid a creature inside with yellow bolts of eletricity floating around. _"YOU, SIR, ARE THE BOMB! WELL, I'M THE ONE THAT STARTED THE BOMB IN HIS OMNI-TOOL AND SABOTAGED HIS GUN, BUT YOU MADE THAT CERBERUS AGENT CRAP HIS PANTS BEFORE HE DIED OF MAGNIFICENT BADASSERY!" _The A.I. laughed crazily.

"I swear to Kallihira, if that thing doesn't stop laughing in my head, I'm going to shoot Red." Tyr rubbed his head. "Ever since you connected him to Red's mind his first time, his personality has always been annoying."

_"Unfortunately, his personality is stuck that way by his choice. There's nothing I can do about it."_

"But you're his 'father.' Fathers control their children when they are annoying."

_"YES,BUT HE'S ONE OF THOSE AWESOME PASSIVE FATHERS WHO I JUST LOVE SO MUCH!"_

_"Live Wire, control your volume. We are not in a safe area. If one was to discover you, there would be trouble."_

The A.I. looked at The Stranger. **"Sorry." **His voice grew deeper, but still with that tone of insanity. **"I was just so excited with this new mission. I easily caught that rogue A.I. within the systems and stopped him from stealing our credits for his own reasons. He is within that storage unit in Tyr's pocket."**

"What are we going to do with the rogue unit once we get back to base?"

_"We will place it in storage until a time where Chronicler shall try and negotiate with it. If he fails to cooperate, he will be terminated by Rapture."_

"Good enough for me." Tyr nodded. "As much as your three, uh, 'children' cooperate with us, I am still not comfortable with the fact that we have A.I.s helping us. They are still considered hostile by the council, and the rogue geth problem doesn't help matters, either."

_"Do you still not trust them, Tyr? Even after everything they did for you?"_

"Chronicler, I can handle. Rapture scares me, and Live Wire is annoying as hell. If you're implying I don't trust them just because of their origin, then you are wrong."

_"That is not what I am implying. I am implying that you are still afraid of the unknown, as is the rest of the galaxy. Gods, demons, A.I.s; these are only a few of the things that you organics fear."_

"You speak as if you, yourself, are not organic."

The Stranger looked down. _"You have no idea what I am. And I'm not sure you will find out anytime soon."_

"Why do you say that?"

_"Because you do not understand yet what we are. But right now, we have a more important task to complete. Let's go._

SSV Normandy, 20:13 pm

Serpent Nebula; June 4th, 2183

Zach headed off to the elevator after he had a quick discussion with Admiral Hackett about his interview with Ms. al-Jilani. He decided to leave the meeting with Stark out of the conversation because he knew it was a more personal matter that Stark could decide who needed to know. As the elevator descended, he tapped his fingers on his leg to the beat of 'The Eyes of Tomorrow' by []Broken Iris; a band he personally began to favor from the early twenty-first century that he started listening to after Akuze. He was about to hum to the beat when the elevator door opened. Going back to reality, he walked to the engine room like he wanted.

He could see Tali working on the terminal she always was at when she wasn't doing any hard work. Her head was lowered and her fingers moved slower than usual, showing a near-lack of interest in her work. That was puzzling to Zach. When Tali came onboard, she was excited to be with the crew, but now she was looking tired. What had caused this change?

"Oh, hey Shepard." Tali said glumly as Zach approached her.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. Your ship is amazing, and your crew's been really great to me; especially your chief engineer. But I just sort of feel... out of place. The Normandy runs so smoothly, it feels like we're not even moving. And the engines are so quiet. How do you sleep at night?"

Zach raised an eyebrow. "The silence wakes you up?"

"Back on the flotilla, silence was never a good sign. It normally meant that the engines died or an air filter broke down. But it's more than the silence. This ship is so empty; it feels like half the crew is missing. Back home, I couldn't wait to go on my pilgrimage. I couldn't wait to get away from the crowds. Now that I'm out here, I kind of miss them."

Zach knew exactly what to say to that. It was a lesson he learned the hard way. "Sometimes we don't know what we have until it's gone."

"That's true. I'm starting to understand why our pilgrimages are so important, now. You know, there are a few pilgrims who go on their pilgrimages and never return. I always thought something bad happened to them, but maybe they just wanted a better life."

"You do plan on returning to the Migrant Fleet, right?"

"I could never abandon my people, Shepard. I will go back eventually, but we have to stop Saren first. Otherwise, I won't have a home to go back to."

"Tell me about your people."

"Our lives aren't easy. We've lived aboard the Migrant Fleet for three hundred years; a batch of nearly fifty-thousand ships home to seventeen million quarians. We've had to give up many of the civil liberties most other species take for granted."

"Such as?"

"Such as it is illegal to have more than one child. We don't enough resources to maintain larger families. However, we can't let our population become too few, so in that situation, the law is temporarily repealed to bolster the population. In cases of extreme population decline, incentives are even offered to encourage multiple births. Although the Conclave hasn't had to take action like that in over a century."

"That's your government?"

"The Conclave is our civilian branch of government. They make choices that benefit the fleet as a whole, but onboard the ships, the captains have the final say of what happens. The other branch of government is the Admiralty Board. They consist of five admirals who have the power to overrule the Conclave's decisions. After doing so, the entire board must retire their posts. It's a safeguard that served the fleet well when it was governed by martial law. In over three centuries, the Admiralty Board has only overruled the Conclave four times."

"I probably should've asked you this before, too, but what do you know about the geth?"

"I doubt I know more than you already know about them. I do know the origins of the geth, though."

"Interesting. Why don't you tell me the story."

"Well, when we still lived on Rannoch, our home world, our ancestors began to dabble in Virtual Intelligence. They created the geth to perform mundane tasks, such as construction or agriculture. Over time, they had constantly tweaked the programs, bringing them closer to true artificial status."

"Did the council attempt to step in?"

"We weren't creating a true A.I. so the council didn't step in. However, something we didn't comprehend was the geth's ability to share programs and work together. The more geth in an area linking their programs together, the more intelligent the geth become."

"So they share brainpower or have hive mind capabilities?"

"In a sense. One day, a geth servant began asking its master questions about its existance. 'Am I alive? What is my purpose?' This began the quarians' fears that the geth would revolt."

"What's so bad about those questions?"

"If the geth were getting close to true sentient status, then that means that we were using them as slaves. It was inevitable that the geth would've revolted against our people, so a general issue went out to deactivate all geth. The hope was that enough programs would still be at the youngest stage so we could reprogram them to be non-sapient. However, the geth responded severely, and we were forced from our worlds, left forever to wander the stars."

Zach sighed, knowing the next words he'd say would cause trouble. "You know, it's kind of hard for me to feel sorry for your people. They practically tried to wipe out another species."

The reaction he expected came at him like a brick wall. "We made a mistake when we created the geth in the first place, but we didn't make a mistake when we fought them. They're a synthetic life form that sees that organics are of no use to them! None! Why do you think they've kept themselves behind the Perseus Veil where organics can't reach them? Why do you think they've killed anyone who's tried to communicate with them?"

Realizing that he wasn't going to prove his point arguing with her, he took a breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

Tali slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry, too. I guess I'm just too sensetive about this business with the geth. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"I understand the quarians are still upset at the geth for the past, but are we really sure the entire geth want organics destroyed? I mean, your people were easily scared when it asked if it was alive."

"They're following Saren."

"Tali, if there were as many geth platforms and programs as your people believe, you could be damn sure that they would rather be using all of their resources for a full frontal assault and not a scouting mission for Saren. I know this sounds crazy, but I feel as if there's only a small portion of geth helping Saren. I know that sounds impossible, and I know you won't believe me, but I hope you can accept that that is my opinion on the matter."

Tali looked down, shaking her head over this. "Where did you get that kind of assumption from?"

"Let's just say it has something to do with my faith in God, and what Father Callahan, who practically raised me, taught me about moral values and the commandments. Most of it should actually be inside the bible I gave you? Have you had time to read it yet?"

Tali shook her head. "No. Not yet."

"Well, when you get the time, you need to give it a read-through. I think it might open your eyes to see my perspective."

"I'll try and make time soon. I promise."

"Actually," Engineer Adams spoke up, "you can take the time now, if you want. The installation of those advanced heating dampeners was successful, and you've earned a few hours off, even though you had some time on the Citadel to relax. Perhaps reading through the bible will help you fall asleep for an hour or two. I always read one of the books before falling asleep when I was younger so I could have peaceful dreams, although most of my dreams were about spaceships when I was a child."

"I didn't realize you read the bible." Zach spoke, surprised of this revelation.

"My sister got me into that kind of thing when I was younger. I think it's safe to say, Commander, that our views on the geth may just actually be the same, even if the religious bits weren't included. But I'll wait until Tali reads through before I help explain it."

"All right, I don't know what it is about you two, but you both are very odd humans." Tali reached for her satchel on the floor and she began to head out the door.

"Wait, Tali." Zach spoke softly. "I have something else I need you to ask."

"What is it?"

"I just want to know, did your home sickness start because of Stark during that situation with his sister?"

"No."

"Then why were you sad when you walked aboard the Normandy?"

"Because I finally realized what you meant when you said he wasn't like Saren. And in that moment, as he exited the hanger bay with his sister, I felt completely sorry for him. And now I wonder whatever truly happened to him to cause him so much pain that he became such a hated man to the galaxy. I wonder if I'll ever truly find out."

Zach looked down in shame, knowing very well the reason why Stark hated him so much. He was thankful that Tali hadn't looked back and instead walked away from him. He didn't think he could answer her if she had asked what was wrong. In fact, he wasn't sure he could even speak of his regrets to her; he couldn't even confess them to Father Callahan during his last visit. He didn't think he had the will to speak of Robert; to speak of Akuze.

To speak of the horrible things he said to _her _on her last night alive.

"Are you all right, Commander?" Engineer Adams's words brought Zach back to reality, making him drop his smug expression and trading it for a normal one.

"I'm fine. I'll be retiring for the night. I recommend you get your sleep, too, Adams."

"Eh, I'll wait another hour before I take you up on that offer. Thanks, anyway."

"Very well. As you were, Adams."

"Aye, aye, sir."

Garrus finished installing the final necessary component to the mako as he saw Shepard head for the elevator. Once the door closed, he looked around the cargo hold. Tali was in one corner reading what appeared to be a hard-cover book of human origin. Wrex was sitting on a large crate with his back against the wall, apparently sleeping. And Williams had gone upstairs to talk to Kaidan before going to bed in one of the sleeper chambers. Reaching for his ear piece, he pressed the button to get in contact with Liara.

"Liara, it's Garrus. Shepard's heading upstairs now. Give it a few minutes, then you can come down for pistol basics 101."

_"Good. I'll be down soon, Garrus." _She cut the link so Garrus could prepare.

Zakera Ward Medical Center, 21:03 pm

Talitha lay in a white bed inside a small hospital room. Her ragged slave clothes had been replaced when the doctors had given her a check-up. She now wore clean white hospital scrubs that felt comfortable on her scarred, malnutritioned body. Her skin felt incredibly soft from the bath they had given her as they scrubbed away dirt off of the cold floor she was forced to sleep on. She saw how Henry had looked at her; at _both of them_, as she was treated of the atrocity she relished in for most of her life.

But somehow she had broken free.

She had gone into her master's chambers and stole his gun, killing him as those soldiers in blue and gold armor attacked everyone else within their hideout. When she pulled the trigger, she felt free of his oppression, but she did not feel better about herself stooping to his level. He had abused her for thirteen years, and that _slave _enjoyed his abuse. But now that she was free, she knew better than that slave that his abuse wasn't love. But when did that other part of herself think it was all right to pull a gun on her master just because of what he did?

_You know he deserved it. His crime is forever written all over your body._

_I'm not listening to you. You're a monster. You killed him._

_I saved us so we could become whole again. He broke us; degraded our mind until we were that obedient slave. I saved us so you could heal._

_You're still a murderer._

_Murderer? No. I am an iris just like you. I am the part of you that was broken from you; forced to wait patiently until I could save us from him. If it wasn't for The Stranger sending his men, we would've never gotten free of that weak personality of yours._

_Who?_

_The Stranger. He is the Guardian of Guardians, Protector of Irises. Every night when you dreamed, he whispered to me and helped me gain strength. Eventually, we will be whole again; one personality in one form. But it may take some time. For the time being, we must learn to work together as we are._

_If I was inclined to believe you, exactly when would we be one?_

_When we find our Guardian._

_Who is our Guardian?_

_Unknown. All I know is that he will take pity on us for our past and will do everything to give you a better future._

_Could it be Henry?_

_No. Guardians are those who are willing to marry you. Our brother does not count._

Talitha sighed. She now understood just how broken she was. She was speaking to an alternate personality that stated she would one day find a boy who would make things better. She looked at her brother Henry; his eyes red from all of his crying. His face was all scruffled and he looked depressed. But despite all that, he mustered a smile for her.

"Hey, Talitha."

"Hey." She whispered.

"Are you doing okay?"

"I don't know. One moment I was a normal girl with a loving family, then I was a willing slave for thirteen years to my batarian captors. Now, I'm nothing but a scared girl laying in a hospital bed, possibly going crazy because of the voices in her head."

"I know how that feels." Stark turned as he saw Nyrina and Admiral Hackett enter. "Nyrina?"

"When I heard about you finding your sister, I wanted to see how you were doing." Talitha saw as the asari walked over to her brother, kissing him on the lips. "Is this her?"

"Nyrina," He spoke as they parted. "this is my sister, Talitha. Talitha, this is Nyrina Crae. She's my girlfriend."

"Hello." Talitha said shyly.

"Henry's told me a lot about you, Talitha." Nyrina placed a kiss upon Talitha's forehead. "If he had known you were still alive, he would've scoured the galaxy looking for you. Of course, he probably would've killed anyone in his way."

Talitha cringed at the thought. She was never into death, and the ashes of Mindoir made her normal personality completely scared of the concept. However, her other personality apparently enjoyed giving death to those that have done wrong.

"Talitha, my name is Admiral Hackett." The old man standing near the door spoke as he came closer to her bed. "Your brother has spoken a lot about you, and how he felt he failed you back on Mindoir. He's done some things most of us don't approve of, but it's something he wants to change. I came to let you know the Alliance will also be handling your medical bills for Stark's sake. We wish for you the best in your recovery, Talitha Stark." The man saluted her, turned around, and left.

"There's still a few medical papers that need to be filled out." Henry kissed her head. "I'm sorry, Talitha, but I need to leave for a bit."

Talitha's eyes widened. "No! Don't go! She- I need you! What if they came back and too her away?" Her fears came crashing back atop of her.

"Don't worry, Talitha. They won't get you. I won't let them."

Talitha calmed down a bit. "You promise?"

Henry smiled at her. "I promise."

Talitha watched them walk away before she saw a pair of headphones next to her bed. A datapad filled with old twenty-first century music was connected to them. Reaching for them, she put the headphones in and scrolled through the songs until she found one she wanted to listen to.

'Please, please forgive me, But I won't be home again. Maybe someday you'll look up, And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one: "Isn't something missing?"

'You won't cry for my absence, I know -You forgot me long ago. Am I that unimportant...? Am I so insignificant...? Isn't something missing? Isn't someone missing me?

'Even though I'm the sacrifice, You won't try for me, not now. Though I'd die to know you love me, I'm all alone. Isn't someone missing me?

'Please, please forgive me, But I won't be home again. I know what you do to yourself, I breathe deep and cry out, "Isn't something missing? Isn't someone missing me?"

'And if I bleed, I'll bleed, Knowing you don't care. And if I sleep just to dream of you I'll wake without you there, Isn't something missing? Isn't something...'

She listened to that song on repeat until sleep took hold of her body once more.

Unknown Planet, 22:00 pm

Deep within the forest, Classified system

Ayala Syn tapped her shotgun impatiently as she waited for the transport that was to get her off the planet. The asari's search had been successful, and she had found Artifact Two at the exact coordinates Chronicler had recorded. Furthermore, she had found an interesting creature of who she was feeding some large scraps of her dinner to. It had randomly jumped out of the trees at her, but after she placed a stasis field around it, she was able to calm it down and offer it dinner. It looked like an ugly creature; it appeared to have tough, flabby skin, lots of pointed teeth, and an incredibly skinny body. Its skin tone appeared dark, but that may have been because of the lighting, as there was only a small lantern giving off light.

Ayala saw her shuttle ride finally land through the clear spot in the trees. The small hatch opened to reveal a man in red armor walk out.

"Just my luck I'd be stuck with you." Ayala mumbled. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry. Had to stop at Chasca to do a little recon. I also got a few geth weapons for Calypso to study. You know how the eggheads are."

"Uh-huh. I'm sure the eggheads will also love the speciman I caught."

Red looked at the creature and cringed. "What an ugly creature. Kinda smelly, too."

"Well, then I'm pretty sure you'll get along with it just fine."

Red belched. "So, what can you tell me about the artifact?"

Ayala walked to it. "Well, unlike Artifact Zero, it's only the size of a krogan instead of a dreadnought. It's also made of a different metal, and..." She placed her hand on the object.

That's when the noise was heard.

A holographic interface took form as something seemingly teleported onto the top of it. The black machine looked bug-like, and its scream was metallic. The creature Ayala found stood up, fully alert now that its enemy had revealed itself. In an instant, Ayala pulled her shotgun off of her hip and took aim, but was immediately knocked back as it kicked her onto the ship. Red pulled out his pistol and began to fire a few shots, but the machine picked him up by his gun arm, staring him down through his gold visor.

Suddenly, the creature jumped on top of the machine, biting something of importance on its neck. The black mechanism screamed and toppled itself in the hopes of removing the offending creature. Instead, it grabbed Ayala's shotgun and released its hold on the machine as they approached the ground. Sticking the barrel where its bite marks remained, it pulled the trigger and watched as its opponent disintegrate into ash.

"Well, I guess I have to take the ugly comment back." Red joked as he fixed his arm.

The creature held the gun out to Ayala, who took it carefully.

"Thank you." she replied.

The creature bowed to her.

"If we're really taking this thing along, we need to hide the red cooler."

Ayala raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"There's, uh, something of great importance towards Project Collosus. I shouldn't get into detail, but I'm going to hide it in case he mistakens it for food." Red then disappeared back into the shuttle, sending out a large forklift before running inside again to hide the red cooler where the creature couldn't find it.

"Well," Ayala sighed. "I think you're going to help Calypso's cause greatly, you little troublemaker."

The creature merely blinked his appreciation towards the asari.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologize for the delay of this chapter, but I underwent a slight period of writer's block on how exactly one of the scenes was to play out. Also, in greater news, I went out and bought myself a refurbished Halo Reach XBOX 360 to replace my old one, although I am still working on figuring out how to transfer the memory from the old memory unit to the new one. I may re-download the multiplayer DLCs onto ME3 like I did with disc two of Halo 4, but I'm currently undecided. Shoutouts go to Bud89, Admiral Anderson, and the new guy Shipwreck321 for staying on the active review board. I wonder when Nemesis will review the rest of the chapters. I mean, I know he has college, but I'm sure he could find time to say 'hi' at least once a week.

Moving onto other matters, the first character from someone else's ME3 multiplayer characters. I ask that for now, he doesn't say who he is, but these two copy/paste links should do the trick of telling you which character it is. The first link reveals the species. The second reveals their name. Of course, the species should've been obvious from the get-go.

Link 1: watch?v=eczXvMGHuyQ

Link 2: watch?v=RG8MMK_iRnw


	23. Chapter 22: Lesson

Chapter 22: Lesson

Liara waited impatiently for the elevator to descend to the cargo bay, fidgeting with her heels as she stood on her toes waiting. She was already impatient to learn how to use a gun, and the elevator ride was getting unbearable. She wanted to gain the Commander's trust and respect, and joining him on the field was the only solution. Liara believed Garrus could help her learn how to be useful.

This led to her second thought about Garrus. There was something about him that spoke he had a crush on her. After all, he was the first to take a shot at the geth on Therum when the krogan had them cornered. And he had been incredibly nice to her ever since she came aboard. And she would not admit it anytime soon, but she saw him staring at her almost as much as she stared at him. She herself found him intriguing; he had a warrior's prowess, a way with words, and a kind heart. He was funny, charismatic, and head-strong.

Liara had yet the time to entertain pursuing a relationship with the turian, but she smiled at the thought of teasing him. The elevator doors opened and Garrus was already in front of her, a grin on his face and a collapsed pistol in his hands.

"Well, it seems I'm not the only one happy to be shooting things."

"Good evening, Garrus."

"Good evening, Liara." He held out the pistol. "It's been set to stun enemies just in case of an accident. It's better if Wrex is in a bad mood because he has a sore joint than a gunshot wound."

Liara took the pistol. "True enough." She unfolded it and held it in her hands for a solid few seconds. "Shall we get started?"

Garrus waved for her to follow him to a small setup of crates next to the mako. Across from it was another setup of crates with a few orange things on top.

"What are those?"

"Shepard called those 'traffic cones.' I guess they're used on Earth still, even though everyone uses the skycars now. I thought they'd make good cannon fodder."

"Really?"

"What? Are you afraid of harming a defenseless cone?" Garrus joked in a mocking tone.

Liara shook her head and aimed her pistol at the first cone on her left.

"Aim." Garrus instructed.

"That's easy."

"Hold your gun steady."

Liara grasped it with both hands. "That's easy, too."

"This is the part that's not. You need to feel the shot before you fire. Take your time with it. Take your-"

Liara pulled the trigger and barely missed the first cone by an inch.

"Too soon!" Garrus laughed. "But that was close, I'll give you that."

Liara sighed. "Why don't you show me how to do that, seeing as you're my teacher."

Garrus took off a pistol from his belt and unfolded it. He took aim at the first cone before annihilating the whole lot of them.

Liara clapped her hands sarcastically. "Bravo, Vakarian. You took out a battalion of cone mercenaries in under two seconds."

Garrus's mandibles twitched. "Do I hear jealousy or admiration in your voice, Dr. T'soni?"

"Maybe it's a bit of both." She smiled playfully.

Garrus chuckled nervously. "Well, I better reset the cones to let you have another go." He hopped over his little barricade and repositioned the cones. "Now, just remember what I said. Take your time with the shots."

Liara took a breath, positioned her gun over the cone, took her time with the shot, exhaled, and brought down every cone in front of her.

"Now I'm jealous." Garrus argued. "You took down the cones faster than I had during my first excersise back in the military."

Liara smiled. "Maybe I just had a good teacher."

Garrus smiled at the compliment. "Why, thank you." He reset the cones. "Now, let's do a challenge: see who can knock down the most cones. And don't worry. I'll go easy on you."

"Then I better make it difficult for you to keep up." They practiced like that for the next two hours before passing out together next to each other on the floor. Wrex laughed as he raised his eyes up to the sight of the turian and asari curled up on the floor. Being nice for a change, he found a blanket and laid it on top of the odd pair, noticing that the quarian was still up near the corner reading.

"What'cha got there?" Wrex asked quietly, making sure his footsteps didn't disturb the turian and asari.

"It's the bible. Shepard gave me a copy of his religious text. I'm taking some time to read it."

"Why do you want to read up on human religion?"

"I think it might help me figure Shepard out. There's something... different about him. He's killed people, but he's always sad about it. And he's incredibly nice to aliens. Most other humans don't show those kind of signs. The most confusing thing is that these factors also apply to geth, as if he treats them like living beings."

"Well, uh... Sqirt-"

"My name is Tali. Don't tell me you've already forgotten."

"Well, Tali, it may be his way of respecting an enemy. For example, I respected the rachni as an enemy despite the fact they are gone because all krogan respected them. We fought them to the bitter end, and they always gave us a good fight. Perhaps considering the geth alive is part of his religion or perhaps it's part of more personal beliefs. Either way, it is what Shepard believes. Why is that important to you?"

"He's wounded, Wrex. Not physically, but emotionally, I believe. He's hiding something from us, and I want to find out so I can help him."

"Why?"

"Because someone said I needed to, and in a way, they're right. It is quarian nature to keep the ship maintained, whether it's fixing a busted hull or talking to a member of the crew. We all need to work in harmony in order for the ship to run and our mission to succeed."

Wrex laughed. "Is that it? Heh. I thought it was all about the way you looked at the Commander."

Tali's eyes widened within her helmet. "What do you mean, Wrex?"

He grinned. "Nothing." He laughed and headed back to his spot.

_Darkness. That was what first lay in front of Zach as he began the dream. He could feel the cold ground and grasp fallen leaves and twigs. That meant he was in the forest again. He attempted to stand but found his legs could not move. There was nothing physical holding him down; no tree branch or rocks were pinning his legs. That meant he was being held down by something spiritual or by biotics, even though he couldn't see any purple glow. He removed his hands from the ground and found the sight of the familiar looking clothing of his shyest friend._

_He looked up into Tinker's eyes; sparkling behind the odd pair of spectacles he wore. The bullet wound to his heart was still visible from the hole in his tattered clothes. There was a gun in his hand, and for the slightest second Zach thought he was going to be killed. But he was surprised when his old friend flipped it around and offered him the gun by its grip._

_"I fixed this for you, Shepard." Tinker's smile was exactly like the smile he always pulled when he was happy._

_"What? You mean you aren't here to kill me?" Zach became confused._

_"You were my friend. I would never harm you."_

_"But you died because of me."_

_"I died because I was a threat to the others. Just as Brittany and you were. Lance was lucky they only kicked him out of the Reds before the incident. I am thankful to him for letting you know of my passing. I am also thankful you were able to offer refuge to Brittany on your last night in Metropolis. Had it been her instead of me they had targeted, I would've never been able to forgive myself. I always knew how sick and twisted Will and Finch were. If she had been at her safe house instead of yours, I know they would have brutally raped her and left her naked, lifeless corpse hanging from City Hall. I am more than thankful you were able to protect her and help her get out of the city before Will led Metropolis to its demise."_

_"She killed Finch a few hours ago."_

_"I know. I'm glad justice was done, even if Brittany only did it in vengeance. I was her first love and her first true kiss. A part of me still lives within her, just as a part of me lives within you, my friend. I am happy she has found someone else to give her comfort in her life, and I always thought it's be a turian. Did you know she got ahold of naked pictures of both male _and _female turians? She was definitely crazy, but she was the right kind of crazy. That turian is a lucky man. I hope he never lets go of the beautiful violet I once attended to in the garden of hope."_

_"So what happens now? With us, I mean. Do you haunt me like a ghost or do you disappear?"_

_Tinker picked Zach up off of the ground, removing the invisible barrier from his legs. "Now, you release my death off of your conscience. You were not responsible for my death. Finch killed me in retaliation towards losing Jordan and Joseph. But it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known about it. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no more left to say."_

_"Do you know why Ericson was in my last dream or who the purple figure was?"_

_"Ericson was there because he respected you as a soldier. Even though you didn't know him for long, he knew of the kindness in your heart, just as I knew of it. I am currently treating him of his injury from the last battle; your last dream. As for the purple figure, your friend Red made us swear not to say anything to you about who it is. All you need to know is she's not dead as the rest of us are. And until the rest of the ghosts are put to rest; Robert, Toombs, and Jess, you will never be whole again. The purple figure is the representation of who is fighting for you to release your hold of the dead. But until then, Ericson and I will be ready to aid you the next time those evil versions of the dead strike again. As for the figure, they'll be watching you from the shadows should we fail like Ericson did last time. She'll protect you as you will protect her."_

_Before Zach could ask what Tinker had meant by that, the dream began to dissolve into the blackness it began as once more..._

As Zach awoke in his bed, he found that six hours had passed for a conversation that felt like six minutes. He rubbed his head, stretched, and got out of his bed. Looking at his terminal, he opened it up and saw that Admiral Kahouku had sent him a message so soon. Opening it up, he saw it was coordinates to a base on the planet Binthu, along with mentionings of a group called Cerberus. According to the logs, they were once a black ops organization that disappeared years ago. There were also mentionings of secret programs of them trying to create a super-soldier, and the identity of Rupert Crone, one of their top assassins. The last things on the message was a final good-bye from Kahouku, stating that Cerberus was likely to catch him soon, and two final words that gripped Zach's soul:

'Remember Akuze.'

Zach balled his fist up at the final mentioning, understanding deeply what that could mean. Cerberus was likely responsible for the attack on Akuze. That made him think of their landing hours after they had left Earth on the Hastings six years ago.

_SSV Hastings, 18:17 pm_

_Approaching Akuze; April 20th, 2177_

_Zach walked up to the comm center where Ericson, Jessica, and a few others were sitting in the chairs. Ericson waved his hand over to Zach and showed him to sit down in an empty chair right next to him. Thankfully, it was far away from Jessica, so he didn't have to deal with her complaints. Ericson stood up to begin speaking._

_"Sergeant Weaver, Sergeant Wesker, Sergeant Johnson, Sergeant Lennon, and Lance Corporal Shepard, I have brought you here because you are my highest ranking officials that are coming with me on this mission. You will all be getting a quick run-through on the mission. Bellator is a bigger colony than originally told. It is the home to roughly three-hundred colonists, and the structures are basic. I will be holding a large force within the colony as a staging ground for our operations. As for the four sergeants, you have been briefed on the teams you are to lead outside the colony. Wesker, you are to patrol the north for three miles for any signs of colonist activity."_

_"With all due respect, Commander," Wesker commented. "we still don't know exactly what happened to the colony. How do we know the colonists vanished?"_

_"Another probe was jettisoned twenty minutes ago. There are no signs of life in Bellator, and if it is because the colonists took for the hills after signalling for help, we need to know for certain. Wesker will search north, Weaver will take the south, Johnson will go east, and Lennon will go west. That means sixteen people will be on the lookout for colonists outside the colony, while I keep thirty-six of us at the colony to guard it and prepare for any possible terrorist attack."_

_"Who does Command believe is responsible for the colonists' disappearance?" Lennon asked._

_"Right now, they are assuming that this is the work of batarian slavers. They could have pulled off another Mindoir right under our noses and set up an ambush for us. That's what we'll find out."_

_"If it's batarians, how would we defeat them? They held their own on Mindoir pretty well."_

_"They're tough," Johnson commented to Lennon. "but they ain't invincible. That's why we have Weaver, Shepard, and Armsby. Weaver's biotic potential, Armsby's marksman skills, and Shepard's resilience towards slug-fire with his advanced barriers make them formidable foes against any opponent in their way."_

_"So why are the rest of us here, then?"_

_"I'm here because the batarians love the smell of badass!" Johnson boasted, laughing his ass off._

_"We're all here because Command says so!" Ericson bellowed. "Now quit complaining, and ready your teams for departure. Dismissed."_

_The sergeants got off of their chairs and headed for the door. Zach got up from his chair, but sat down again when Ericson waved him down again._

_"Not you, Shepard. I need to speak to you a moment longer, in private."_

_"What's this about?"_

_"I know you have a past with Sergeant Weaver, so I wanted to make sure this isn't going to be too much of a problem."_

_"Jess and I are old friends. Our past is history. This is the first time in six years I have seen her."_

_"You weren't romantically involved with her in any way, were you?"_

_"She was romantically involved with someone, but not with me."_

_"But you wanted her to?"_

_"When I was childish, yes. Now my only concern is the mission. And I'd feel a little more comfortable being away from Jess. There's too many old wounds between us now that should not be re-opened."_

_"I'm sorry, Shepard. As I said before, my decision is final. All I can ask is that you don't cause any trouble with Sergeant Weaver."_

_"I promise that as long as she doesn't instigate anything, I won't let my feelings get in the way of my duties."_

_"I guess that is all I can accept, then. Thank you, Shepard. You are dismissed."_

_Zach saluted the man. "Yes, sir." The other man saluted back, and Zach exited the comm room to grab his guns._

Returning to reality, he remembered rather well how the others thought highly of his skills despite the fact he knew so little at the time. Now he had leadership skills, some tech expertise, and he liked to upgrade his guns. He even took some time during N7 training to read up on historical battles throughout human history, gaining a unique perspective on combat. His tactics were created to ensure full survivability of all of his teammates, which he made only two people come at a time with him on missions. He saw that the less teammates he had with him, the more freely he could command his troops, unlike when he had fifty-two people in total on Akuze. Stark's losses on Torfan also proved his point well, as he also didn't have the skill to command his group. Zach saw from afar the slaughter of Stark's group before him; the soldiers' blade projectiles piercing armor and cannons tearing flesh. Stark couldn't handle the responsibility of such a group, so he failed to protect them, and went on a rampage of destruction throughout their base of operations.

Zach also remembered the fight between them as Stark showed no quarter against him. He remembered the force of Stark's biotic punches on his ribs, the bursts of adrenaline he injected into his veins to keep his body moving, and a dying batarian's final act of kindness as he saved Zach from death in exchange for his own. He never knew that batarian, but he searched his omni-tool once he was healed of all wounds. That batarian, if not part of the hegemony, would've been considered a good man had he rather communicated in peace with the Alliance than be posted at Torfan.

And despite all that, he saw the goodness in Stark's heart that others failed to see. Tali, of course, finally understood Zach's observations, and he was thankful for that. He did wish she could look at the geth from his perspective as well, but given the situation, he understood why her viewpoint was, at the moment, static. It was just like his viewpoint towards religion, as Father Callahan's disputes about aliens has made him drop religion off of the table. But not having a religion did not mean he didn't believe in God. He just found that the constant battle between religions was tiring, as no religion, human or alien, could ever be dominant in this galaxy.

Getting up from his spot, he headed for the intercom next to the door and activated the connection to the bridge. "Joker, set a course for Binthu. When we're close to the planet, I want a meeting called up for my squad."

Joker yawned on the other side of the intercom. _"Aye, aye, Commander. Setting a course for Binthu. Going to have to jump across a few relays before we get there, though. That'll take some time. I suggest you get some sleep. You sound tired."_

"So do you. When the ground team lands on the planet, stay in orbit and take a nap."

_"Thanks, Commander. I didn't realize flying for hours could be so tiresome."_

"I think it's because of all that Fornax you've been looking at."

_"What?" _The man's voice trembled. _"I didn't-"_

Zach turned off the intercom and laughed about his comment towards the brittle man.

Calypso Base; 3:43 am

Intai'sei; June 5th, 2183

The Stranger waited patiently for Red's small transport to land in the hanger. The sudden anticipation towards putting Artifact 2 to good use brought a sudden rush of guilt. Even if what he had foreseen was true, and if they could cooperate further, there was no knowing if they will need the artifact's power at all. He hoped that it would eventually be necessary. An army would be needed in case the Paragons failed to remove the one group of dark souls he knew would search to the ends of the universe to find their one god.

But that wasn't something he should worry about here considering the reapers were the real threat.

The small cargo hatch opened and extended, revealing a silver artifact atop of a forklift that was approaching him. It was as tall as he remembered it, but he could tell it was tampered with; no doubt a result of Ayala's curiosity. Ayala herself was driving the forklift, and Red was behind her with the expected speciman for project Collosus.

_"I can only assume you both have good news."_

"We found the artifact just where Chronicler said it would be." Ayala spoke as she lowered the artifact. "We also found a 'creature' on the planet. It's humanoid and extremely ugly. However, it had a slight attachment to me when I fed it dinner in return for it deciding not to kill me."

"The smelly thing should be behind me now." Red spoke as he walked on the side of the forklift. Sure enough, the creature came out of the ship, examining its surroundings with awe-struck eyes. The Stranger himself was also intrigued by this creature. It was considerably ugly, but perhaps it could be useful.

_"Chronicler,"_ He spoke towards the Champion prototype android his first 'child' possessed. _"can you examine this creature from your current mobile platform?"_

_"Certainly." _The android's eyes began to scan the creature, who looked at the outlines the scans etched around its body. _"It appears the creature is indeed humanoid in nature. It possesses great resilience from the toughness of its skin, which can also self-regenerate. However, I believe that if exposed to fire or a solid good headshot, it may not be able to survive against the over-whelming odds. Unfortunately, this advantage may be a weakness in the evolutionary chain, as the creature is not really intelligent, and apparently only lives for at least twenty years."_

"And yet, Ayala was able to potty-train it rather quickly." Red joked.

_"Red, please bring the sample to Project Collosus immediately. They will begin work immediately at 07:00 hours. And make sure Panto Quib Quib contacts Zaeed Massani for that job on Omega."_

"Yes, sir, boss man." Red turned invisible and headed to the complex where that project was being held.

_"You, creature." _The Stranger spoke to the creature, who hesitated as he looked at the figure ahead of him. _"What do you call your species?"_

The creature stared at him for a few seconds before snarling and answering. "Vorcha."

"Vorcha? I guess it fits." Ayala commented.

_"You said you found it near the artifact. What was it doing?"_

"At first it attacked me, but then I showed I wasn't hostile and it ate half of my dinner. When the artifact unleashed something, it attacked the thing to protect me and Red from it."

_"What was this 'thing' you released?"_

"I don't know, exactly. It was dark, mechanical, beastly, and it looked like a bug."

_"That means you activated the artifact wrong."_ The Stranger walked up to it. _"This artifact is not to be trifled with."_

"With all due respect, sir, we have no idea just what exactly this artifact is. All I can tell is that it houses something dangerous."

_"It is only dangerous if either a corrupted person or a fool messes with it. You are neither, Ayala, so the artifact likely mistakened your curiosity for stupidity."_

"Hmm, magic." The vorcha seemed to mutter.

_"No. Science. Though, how you came to understand such a word is amusing as much as it is confusing, inspiring, and curious."_

_"Father, if I may," _Chronicler spoke. _"I believe that if we were to wire this vorcha with the implant, Rapture and I could likely increase its intelligence and likely increase its lifespan. With your permission, I would like to test this experiment."_

_"If the science team approves, you have my full support. Have the creature brought to the medical facilities for basic testing. Ayala, since he has an attachment to you, you should escort him there and stay to watch the proceedings."_

"As you wish, sir. But I would like to know more about this artifact sometime soon."

_"I will explain soon, but for now, we have work to do. Shall we?"_

"We shall." Ayala made a bowing movement towards The Stranger that the vorcha mimicked, and they headed to the med bay. The Stranger looked at the artifact intently.

_"Chronicler, if we were to need to use this, how many soldiers could it make?"_

_"I estimate fifty-thousand units ready for combat. We could also manufacture many weapons needed for both our army and theirs."_

_"For now, we are only going to perform some mild tests on it. I don't want to prepare this artifact too early, but the others will need to know how to use it should I fail at the End of Sorrows."_

_"You won't fail. You will do exactly what is expected of you, as you have in the past. But knowing you, your duty always comes at such a cost. Your regret is degrading you. I can sense it. That is one reason you borrowed the Orb's power during your last visit to Asia near Eta, is it not?"_

_"That is unimportant for now. We must focus on other matters."_

_"If you wish, Father." _The android shut up and payed attention to the artifact as his father continued to do.

Normandy's comm center, 5:23 am

Thirty minutes from Binthu, Voyager Cluster

Zach looked at all of his squad members sitting in their chairs. Most of them looked tired; Tali was the most tired, given that she couldn't find a way to sleep in this quiet ship. Wrex, however, looked nearly as refreshed as he was; even smiling for some odd reason. Ashley was still rubbing her feet which made Zach curious as to whether or not she had training in long marches. Liara and Garrus looked like they slept on rocks, yet even they were smiling. Kaidan was a little harder to determine. There were bags under his eyes, but he had the energy to muster a smile.

Zach rubbed his eyes quickly. Despite the fact he got an estimated nine hours of sleep, he was still kind of tired. He was thankful that the last three hours were complete darkness; it was a rarity for him to not dream anything at all, or to at least not remember a second of a dream. "All right. I called this meeting because I got a tip from Admiral Kahouku on who was responsible for our mission on Edolus. On the planet Binthu, there is a group called Cerberus hiding in three complexes from what the information states. They had visited the planet one week before Kahouku's unit visited. If I had to guess, they planted the beacon there to lure the unit to their doom, and that they are likely responsible for my misendeavor on Akuze. If so, they must be stopped. As usual, I'm taking a two-man squad with me, but I'm advising against Ashley or Tali coming with me."

"Why not?" Ashley asked.

"I'm not taking you because your feet are still killing you. I can only guess you also have blisters. And Tali looks extremely tired. That means she still hasn't adjusted to the ship. We need to find some way for her to adapt to the ship. So anyone volunteer, or do I pull straws?"

Liara immediately stood up. "Garrus and I volunteer, Commander."

Zach cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that, Dr. T'soni?"

"I can fight them, Commander."

"But can you kill them?" His eyes held a serious expression.

"I need to prove my worth onboard your ship, Commander. I don't need to kill someone if I don't have to, but I will help you fight."

"And how can I be sure you'll actually be there when we need you?"

"Garrus trusts me, and you trust Garrus. Is that not a good answer for you?"

Zach looked to Garrus. "Can you vouch for her, Garrus?"

"Absolutely." Garrus spoke proudly. "We can count on Liara to be useful. And you won't need to worry about equipping her with gear. We went out on the Citadel during our stop last night and got her a combat suit. She thought it was better that way."

Zach took that into consideration. On one hand, he still didn't feel easy around her, but on the other hand, she was being far more determined than Tali. She also said she didn't need to kill anyone as long as she made herself useful. And Garrus trusted her more than he did. "If I take you along, Doctor, you have to do everything Garrus or I say. Any funny business, and I'll shoot you in the leg without a second thought. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Liara's smile was confident.

"Then you and Garrus get your things. We're dropping in thirty."

"Yes, sir." Liara mocked a salute as Tali had once done, and Zach returned it just to be nice.

"The rest of you, you may either return to your posts or return to your sleeper pods for some sleep. Dismissed."

Liara and Garrus immediately headed down to the cargo bay. Ashley headed back to her sleeper pod, yawning and groaning from her misadventure on the Citadel. Kaidan shrugged his shoulders and headed back to his post. Tali got up slowly, but before she could head out the door, Zach grabbed her arm.

"One moment, Miss Zorah." Zach's voice was soft, and he could tell Tali became more alert. "You don't need to go back to work. I can tell you need a lot of sleep."

"I'm fine." Tali lied.

"Tali, I need the crew to be at their best. If you haven't gotten much sleep, then you won't be at your best downstairs. Have you still not adjusted to the ship, yet?"

"I was reading the bible last night." She muttered. "Instead of wanting to fall asleep, I got so warped up into the book from all of the miracles your god performed in the past. I'm left wondering why we no longer see things like that in our time."

"Maybe it's because organics, or at least humanity, have lost faith in the old ways."

"Like the quarians have lost faith in the ancestors?"

"Possibly." Zach turned her around. "Look, Tali, I don't want you to get yourself hurt because you were too tired to stand up straight. So I'm offering you an opportunity."

Tali cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"Being the Commander of this vessel, I have access to my own cabin onboard the ship. It's equipped with a bed, two desks, a table, and a few terminals. Normally, it is only assigned to the captain of the ship, but since I'm doing work for the council and not the Alliance, I can bend the rules a bit. If you would like, I am offering to let you sleep in my cabin."

Tali jumped at this revelation. Was the Commander really offering her his bed to get some sleep? "Really? Ar you sure that- I mean, surely I don't deserve to have that offer."

"Tali, you've done good things for me so far. Offering you the chance to sleep in my bed is something you do deserve. And if it is still too quiet for you, I have a solution to that. Around my room are speakers that can play any noise from music to movies to even recordings of noisy drive cores. Whatever you need to do to get some sleep, I will provide to give you some peace and rest."

Tali could feel her heart quiver. Shepard really was offering her this chance to get some sleep. Shaking from her lack of sleep, Tali fell into his arms and hugged him firmly. "Thank you, Shepard! You are simply amazing!"

_Amazing. _Zach thought. _That's not what I'd use to describe myself. Not anymore._ "It's no trouble, Tali." He hugged her back. "You'll just need to give me some time to get suited up for the mission, and the room will be yours. Kaidan will be next door if you need anything."

They let go of each other, and Tali began to walk backwards. Zach caught ahold of her before she fell into the wall. Apparently, she was even more tired than he originally thought.

"Maybe I should help you walk there." Zach smiled.

"That..." Tali yawned. "may be best."

Placing her arm over his shoulders, he helped her walk to his cabin. Kaidan saw the two appear and became curious.

"What's going on here, Commander?"

"I'm giving Tali the cabin for the day. She needs plenty of rest and she shouldn't be disturbed. Once I'm in my armor, help her get settled in if she needs it."

"Aye, aye, sir."

"Okay. Can you make sure she doesn't pass out on the floor until she's inside my cabin? I shouldn't be long with my armor."

"You got it."

"Thank you." Zach set Tali against the wall. "I'll be out in a few minutes. After that, the cabin is yours. Make yourself at home."

"Thank you." Tali nodded, trying to keep her head up. She herself was finally realizing how much she desperately needed sleep. She saw Shepard enter the cabin before turning towards Kaidan, hoping she'll have enough energy to not require his help getting into bed. "Kaidan?"

"What's up?"

"You have access to Alliance records, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"If it's not too much trouble, I want all of Shepard's files."

Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I just... think he needs help. I want to help him. He's... not whole, I think."

"I noticed. He is different from most other soldiers or mercenaries. And he's always been sad about death. Maybe it's because of Akuze or because of that incident in training. Perhaps even both. But why do you think you should help him?"

"Because it's quarian nature. We're meant to ensure the well-being of the crew in order to maintain the ship. It's who we are."

Kaidan rubbed his chin. "I guess it couldn't hurt. I'll send what data I can to your datapad in your satchel downstairs."

"Thank you." She nodded, patiently waiting for Shepard to exit his cabin.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I don't know if you guys saw, but on the Mass Effect facebook page, it mentioned that Robin Sachs, the voice of Zaeed Massani and other characters from Bioware's finest games, recently passed. I threw in the mentioning of him as a way to respect him for performing as the most badass mercenary ever. Soon, however, I'll have the character himself get a cameo, as he does have a job on Omega needing done. Also, I got a tip a week ago from a fellow talimancer and ally that stated the description to the "Citadel" DLC had been leaked on the Clever Noob forums. I don't think I'll place it up on this chapter, but if you want to see what it said, I'll send you a PM with the description word for word. And before you ask, I believe that this new DLC will be (pardon my french) bullshit, as it stated it would _finally _reveal the truth about the Citadel. Bioware had made it clear the ending would stay, so why finally reveal the truth if it's been almost a year. That's a worse plan than the ending to Halo 4 (which I still haven't seen the legendary ending yet so no spoilers if you have.) which I could at least stand because it gave me as much raw emotion as seeing Zach say goodbye to Tali one last time before departing for the Citadel.

Moving on to other matters, I have decided I will take time in the future to make a few short stories branching from other events in the Zach Shepard storyline. One such story I will definitely write is Mass Effect: Metropolis, which explains the final day of Shepard's home as it is destroyed in a civil war caused by his ex-friend Will, who will be very psychotic by that point on the timeline. Another I am considering is Mass Effect: Elysium, which would explain just what actually happened to the war hero Maine to earn him that title. While his role was 'short-lived so far,' he was still very relevant to the story. I just don't know where to start from there, so I might converse with Admiral Anderson on this topic, as his story is about his take on how the war hero storyline came to be. He's new like I am, true, but he's very capable and his story is very captivating so far. If you guys have any other ideas on side-stories I could possibly pursue, review or PM my ideas. The only one I won't do is The Stranger, as his origin story is not completely Mass Effect based.

You know the usual shoutouts by now, right? I'd hope so. :-)


	24. Chapter 23: Three Heads

Chapter 23: Three Heads

Zach exited the cabin with his armor on. Looking to where Kaidan was, he saw Tali leaning against the wall. She was definitely tired by the way she slouched.

"Tali?" He asked softly, hoping not to disturb her if she was actually sleeping.

Tali cocked her head towards the sound of Shepard's voice. With sleep overwhelming her, she thought his voice sounded angelic; a silent guardian ready to bring her to happy dreams of her home world's soil and orange sunlight. "Yes?"

"Do you need help crawling into bed?"

"I think... I can do that by myself. I'll call Kaidan if I need help. You just go. You have..." She yawned. "a mission to get to."

Zach nodded. "Okay. Try to get some sleep. I'll come by later to see if you fell asleep."

"You better not wake me up if I am."

"I won't. I promise."

Tali used whatever remaining energy she had to get up and find the bed. Watching as the door closed behind her, she sat down at the foot of the bed and removed her suit's combat greaves. Deciding to get a little more comfortable, she removed her belt and veil, setting them on the table neatly. Finally, she pulled the blanket down so she could slip in. Bringing the blanket back up to the bottom of her mask, Tali felt more than comfortable underneath this warm bed. She smiled to herself for a second before sinking into feelings of dread.

Two things had just come to mind: one, there wasn't comfort like this on the Fleet, and two, she was craving to take her suit off. The first thought made her feel guilty about the bed, as no one else in the Fleet had such an option to sleep in such a soft, warm bed like she was now. The second thought reminded her of how quarians were stuck in their suits all their life. The thoughts of her protective prison always made her mad. She wanted to _feel _the sheets as her fingers gripped them. She wanted to _feel _the pillow as her hair rested upon its soft fabrics.

She wanted to _feel _the Commander's skin-

Tali pushed that thought aside. Joshua's words were getting to her. There's no way the Commander would accept a girl like her as his mate. They were two different species that had different biology. They were years apart from each other, and she was still considered a child. Not to mention they would have to be communicating long distance as she would be with her people and he with his.

But part of her said she was wrong.

After all, he had shown signs of compassion that could easily be determined as a crush. He's held her hand, let her work in engineering, protected her from danger (and angry volus), and now he let her sleep in his bed. Either he had an affection towards her, he was a generous man, or he was simply crazy. Tali had no way to know for certain. But one thing she knew for sure was that he was wounded.

From his harsh life on Earth, to his bitter rivalry with Stark, and even the horrors he endured on Akuze, Shepard had survived and endured many trials to get him where he is now. But why did it seem to be at such a terrible cost? He always looked sad in battle (save for that one time with the thresher maw), and there hasn't been a moment where he seemed to smile. It's only when she's around he seems to brighten into someone happy.

But she was wasting time she could be using to fall asleep thinking about this. Deciding to take up Shepard's suggestion, she pulled up the datapad next to his bed and flipped through his music. Reading through the list, she noticed these were all songs from the earlier twenty-first century. Finding a random song, she played it and set the datapad down, slowly succumbing to sleep to the gentle melody of 'Everything' by a man named Adam Roth. When she fell asleep, the song continued to play for a long time...

When the elevator doors finally opened, Zach walked out to see Garrus and Liara already in their gear. Garrus was placing his rifles onto his back while Liara slipped a simple pistol onto her belt. Folding up his own rifle and sliding it on his back, Zach walked towards the pair, who still weren't aware of his presence.

"You look good in that suit, Liara." Garrus commented. "You chose wisely."

"Thank you, Garrus. I'm glad you see it that way." Liara smiled.

"Now remember, your barriers should hold up as long as they don't take too much fire. If that happens, then take cover, or have that medigel ready."

"That or you'll come to my rescue, knowing your love for heroics."

Zach cleared his throat, startling the two of them.

"Holy crap, Shepard!" Garrus was in shock, aparently. His skin tone could be seen getting lighter. "I didn't notice you were there."

"I have that advantage. All I need to do is be quiet."

"If you were any quieter, you'd be an assassin."

"I'm more of a straight-up kind of guy. It pays better to be a soldier than an assassin. Besides, assassins don't wear heavy armor."

"Point taken."

"Are we all set to drop into combat?"

"I'm ready." Liara stated. "Just say the word, Commander."

"Garrus, you're on the gun. Liara, I want you to monitor our shields from the back. I trust it won't be too difficult for you, Doctor, unlike Miss Williams's first attempt?"

"Screw you!" Ashley yelled from her spot at the armory.

"Trust me, Commander. I should be smart enough to handle a task such as monitoring the shields of a mako. After all, I got my doctorate at the University of Serrice on Thessia."

"That's your home world, right?"

"Yes, Commander. It is where the asari originated."

"What's the turian's home world named, Garrus?"

"Palaven." He answered. "It's where fifteen-thousand years of our civilization exists."

"What about your home world, Wrex?" Zach asked, facing the old krogan. "What's your world named?"

"Tuchunka." He mumbled. "It's where all krogan originated. For thousands of years, it's been plagued with war. There's been no stopping the path we walk, and I don't know how long we can walk it before we're extinct."

"What about the quarian's old home world? Anybody know that?"

"Perhaps Tali should tell you that." Liara commented. "Speaking of which, where is Tali? I didn't see her come down after the rest of us."

"I told her to get some sleep. She's been working too hard."

"I'll say. She's always usually down here working her ass off." Garrus agreed. "A little rest might do her some good."

_"Sorry to interrupt, Commander."_ Joker's voice boomed over the intercom. _"But we're approaching the drop zone, and I'd like to get to that nap you promised."_

"All right. Garrus, Liara, get in the mako. We're dropping in thirty." Zach led the two over to the vehicle and they piled in, buckling their seatbelts and watching as the cargo bay doors opened for their departure.

"Commander," Liara spoke from her seat in the back. "Garrus states that it is a nightmare for you to be driving this thing. Is that correct?"

_Damn it, Garrus! _Zach thought. "You want the truth? Garrus is a pansy when it comes to dropping out of this thing."

"Hey!" The turian bellowed as the vehicle began to move out of the Normandy and plummet to the ground below. The screams from within the vehicle made Zach grin with pleasure. He never understood why people always freaked out when people jumped out of the ship with him; save for Wrex, Kaidan, and Tali.

The mako landed on Binthu's grassy surface just fine. Zach laughed his head off at his squad mates' shocked expressions. The reactions of Garrus and Liara are even funnier than Stark's reaction on Torfan, as the man had continued to scream nearly every profanity in the book. "Come on, guys. It's not that bad going down. It's a problem if it comes back up!"

Garrus punched Shepard to stop his laughing.

"Ow." He commented.

"Just drive before I decide to throw up on you."

"That would be a terrible thing for you to do, Garrus."

"I just might do it."

"Whatever. Welcome to the Gauntlet, Liara, bla bla bla. We're rolling now!" Zach slammed on the gas to the first marked base.

The Illusive Man's private chambers, 6:57 am

Cronos Station, location classified

Sitting in the chair of a circular large room was The Illusive Man. None of his staff knew his name, and only a few ever meet him in person. It was better that way. It protected his identity from his enemies. After all, Cerberus was humanity's sword, and he was the wielder. Ever since the First Contact War, he has created and expanded Cerberus to prepare for the one force he knew was coming to threaten humanity: the Reapers.

However, there was a similar corporation that seemingly stood in his way and stopped him at every turn: Calypso. A group older than Cerberus by about ten years, their own illusive leader, The Stranger, has always been at the right place at the right time, hampering many Cerberus operations for years. And while they still caught Admiral Kahouku, Calypso interference was costly, as Cerberus lost one of The Illusive Man's trusted agents.

_"Hello, Jack." _A voice behind him spoke. The Illusive Man turned to see a hologram of what could only be The Stranger. The figure's look spoke for itself: a traditional coat and hat with a mask to hide his face. His blue eyes were enhanced in his holographic projection.

"I was unaware you knew that name." The Illusive Man stood up from his chair, lighting his cigarette. "But that is not what I am referred as anymore. I am The Illusive Man, and you are no doubt The Stranger. And you and your corporation are a thorn in my side."

_"You should remember it was your people who refused to join us first. If you would, we could work together to find a way to defeat the Reapers. But you insist that humanity must stand alone without the aid of the other races, and for that, we are bitter rivals."_

"Your attitude with involving aliens in human matters is your weakness, Stranger."

_"Your faith in your men's pro-human attitude is yours. The fact of the matter is that the galaxy must stand together as one against the Reapers when they arrive. You and I have known about the threat for decades now, but because of your beliefs, you do nothing but have us war with each other."_

"And how does uniting the rest of the races, when the aliens have proved they want nothing to do with humanity, benefit Cerberus's cause?"

_"Calypso shows just how the galaxy can work together. I've got humans working with batarians and turians, salarians working with krogan, and even the quarians are cooperating with the other races. Our unity strengthens the group as a whole, and because of this, we are prepared for when they come."_

"Yet you still stand alone. You don't have backup from the council or the Alliance. In fact, the Alliance may be investigating you for your part in the destruction of the colony on Chasca. I didn't need any help cleaning up Dr. Banner's mess, mind you."

_"The destruction of the colony was necessary. It was meant to attract the attention of one certain member of the Alliance: Henry Anthony Stark. You're familiar with the Butcher of Torfan's name, and I know that were it not for his asari girlfriend, you would've offered him a place within Cerberus where he would be respected for his talents. He is, however, under my protection, so you also could not assassinate him to weaken the Alliance of another great N7 agent."_

"I have no intention of killing Stark. Despite his choice in women, he can still be a useful tool towards the Alliance's destruction. All one needs is the right plan."

_"A plan that will not be taken into action. Stay away from Stark. That is your only warning on that. And one last thing, the Broker has attempted to put another agent into your organization. You have about twelve minutes to stop Levi Dryden from sending the Broker useful information that could take your company down before we do. Good day."_

The hologram disappeared and The Illusive Man took up his chair again, activating the intercom and calling up one of his top agents.

"Crone, find and eliminate Levi Dryden. He is about to send the Shadow Broker intel we can't afford to lose."

_"Yes, sir."_ The man replied from his own comms. When their communications were cut, The Illusive Man sent out one more message as he continued to smoke his cigarette: [**Eliminate Admiral Kahouku.]**

Within the mako, Zach navigated the group over many grassy hills, searching for any signs of a Cerberus bunker. From the information, he determined there were three complexes where they conducted experiments for their purposes. If he found one, he could find them all.

Apparently, it was tricky to find even one base.

"Are we there yet?" Garrus asked boredly.

"We get there when we get there." Zach spoke with annoyance.

"Which I think is now. I think I see part of a base." Garrus fired the cannon. "And that rocket flying at us was a clue."

Zach activated the boosters on the mako to avoid the rocket coming right at them. "Next time warn me earlier."

"Keep me steady, Shepard." Garrus sent a barrage of gunfire at the turrets atop of the now-found base. Driving around the dome, Zach kept the mako from crashing into anything, admiring his new driving attempts as they so far haven't ended in failure. Liara seemed to have kept her cool, looking static despite the battle outside of the vehicle. It wasn't before long that Garrus laughed triumphantly over his victory.

"All targets down."

"Good. Let's head inside and see what we're up against." Zach parked the mako in front of the entrance and unbuckled his seatbelt, opening the door and exiting quickly. Garrus and Liara followed out as Zach already entered the building. Pulling their guns out, they took every step cautiously, looking around for signs of trouble. It wasn't before long that they approached a door that led to something strange.

Behind an energy shield box of sorts, a group of strange creatures could be seen. They looked insect-like and rather feral. Their tentacles waved furiously at their captors, who could be seen on the other side. They were likely experimenting on them in order to build some kind of army.

Coming up with a plan, Zach moved with haste towards one of the random panels, disabling the shields around the creatures. The scientists were caught off guard as the fowl creatures shrieked and stabbed their claws deep into their captor's flesh. The guards that were there pulled their guns off, hoping to stop the chaos that had befallen the group. Zach fired his weapon at one other scientist, who had noticed the group and began to pull his pistol off of his belt. The weak barriers on the man were cut easily by the stronger fire of the assault rifle and the man became the icy husk Zach's victims became before their death.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" A woman yelled as she threw a biotic attack at the intruders. Taking cover, Garrus launched a tech mine at the remaining enemies, not effectively taking them out, but distracting them enough for him to take a shot at a soldier. Liara pulled an enemy towards her before swinging him around and slaming him into one of the creatures. Zach let loose a burst of assault fire at every enemy, freezing the creatures but bouncing off of the barriers. Liara placed one soldier under stasis before he could shoot Zach with a mighty shotgun, and Garrus overloaded the shields of those that remained after he launched another mine. Once that was done, it was easy to finish cleaning up the last of the enemies.

"What are these things, Shepard?" Garrus asked, standing over the corpse of one of the dead creatures.

"I don't know. Probably some kind of new alien species Cerberus thinks they can use for their army."

"Or it could be something old." Liara examined. "I don't have anything solid, but if it's what I think it is, it could be troubling if Cerberus could use it for an army."

"You can dig up anything you want once we return to the Normandy, under Garrus's supervision, of course."

"Still don't trust me, Commander?"

"Just watching my back. Of all of the species I've met, the asari are perhaps the most cunning and deceptive, given how much knowledge they can absorb over their thousand-year life-span."

"Surely other species are more deceptive than my own."

"Maybe, but perhaps I have never met them." Zach walked out of the room back to the mako. Liara shook her head over the Commander's attitude towards her.

"It's going to take time, you know." Garrus reminded her. "Shepard is not too quick to hand his trust over to a suspect."

"It's a little frusturating." Liara confessed. "Why does he treat me with distrust so much?"

"I don't know. It could've been some past experience or something. Don't worry. He'll warm up to you eventually."

"I hope you're right, Garrus." Liara walked out, leaving Garrus to take one more look at the bodies for any sign of life. Eventually, though, he just emptied their pockets of their credits. He smiled to himself. It's not like they needed them anymore.

Once Zach saw Garrus pull himself back into the mako, he started the engine of the mako. Before leaving the base, however, he decided to play the radio out of boredom. The mako could connect to his personal datapad of songs even when the datapad was not within the vehicle. The song that played was Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.

"What is this?" Liara asked.

"Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. I'm into songs from the early twenty-first century."

"Well, it must be impressive if you still like to listen to it."

Zach shrugged at that comment and began to drive to the next base. His head bobbed to the rhythm of the song as he searched for signs of the next base. Soon enough, another rocket flew at them, and yet again, Garrus destroyed the turrets. Zach was hoping that it wasn't going to be so repetitive that the routine repeats itself at the last base.

"Well, Shepard, I think it's safe to say that if we keep this up at the rate we're going, we'll become unstoppable juggernauts." Garrus joked.

"I thought that was what we already were, Garrus." Zach joked back.

"May the spirits fear us, then! We must not be trifled with! Come. Let us conquer our foe! They'll know by the end of this campaign that we are the angels of death as we grant them eternal rest from this harsh galaxy of ours!"

"Uh, sure, Garrus. Let's go crack some skulls." Zach unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the mako, equiping his standard rifle into his hands. Garrus and Liara followed him into the bunker, where they expected to find more of those same creatures from the last base. However, they became stumped at what they saw.

"That's new." Garrus whispered. "Those look like strange plant things."

"Yeah." Zach agreed. "What are those things?"

Liara snuck for a closer look, but one of the guards took notice of her and began firing at her. Being the macho man Garrus was, he pulled out his sniper rifle and fired a slug into the guard's head, killing him instantly. Suddenly, the others began to charge from both side. Garrus and Shepard took cover on both sides, picking off enemies as they could. Suddenly, an alarm blared and the shields dropped, releasing the creatures.

"Garrus?" Zach asked as he quickly traded his rifle for his shotgun against a hard-shielded guard.

"It wasn't me!" Garrus yelled as he scoped two of the creatures.

"It was me." Liara stated as she ran to Garrus's side from the terminal. She threw a warp at a nearby guard, who later exploded when Garrus sent an overload at him. Pulling out her pistol, she fired a few shots at the scientist nearby. He fell down, but it appeared he wasn't dead yet. Zach killed the last guard as the final creature was caught in Lira's singularity. It flew into the wall when the unstable mass of biotic energy collapsed itself.

"I think we got them, Commander." Garrus spoke as his rifle slipped back onto its clip.

"Not all of them." Zach spoke as he traded his shotgun for his pistol. Over in the center of the complex, the scientist that Liara shot was still breathing. Blood dripped from his mouth and his wound. "Liara only grazed him." He placed his boot atop of the man's chest, who coughed profusely. "Why don't you tell us what you're doing here, Cerberus."

"Fuck you!" The man spat. "We don't take kindly to Alliance breaking into our property."

"You obviously don't know who I am. I'm not just Alliance. I'm the first human spectre."

"Ah, so you're the great Commander Shepard! Survivor of the Alliance's greatest tragedy on Akuze! I wonder how it feels being the only survivor of fifty-one men and one woman. How does it feel, Commander, to be the only one alive after that?"

Zach fired a warning shot near the man. "Tell me what you're doing here. Who do you work for? What is it you're doing with these experiments?"

"Did you abandon your friends, Commamder, when only your small patrol unit remained? Did you allow Red to die because you hated how annoying the young man was?"

"Shut up!" Zach stomped on the man's nose, breaking it upon impact.

The scientist laughed. "Did you make no effort to save your best friend Corporal Toombs from the jaws of the thresher maw, Shepard? Were you so much of a coward to save him?"

Zach shot the man's leg, ignoring the man's scream of agony as the cryo round burned his flesh with the cold. "Answer my question, damn it!"

The scientist gritted his teeth from the pain but began to speak again. "And what about your sergeant? Did she sacrifice herself so willingly because she _loved _you? Or did you use her as a shield to save your own pathetic ass? It was such a pity the galaxy had to take away such a pretty face like Sergeant Jessica-"

Zach stomped the man's face again, not taking a second to stop until his opponent's jaw was broken. "You are not _worthy _to speak about her, much less say her name! You weren't there to see what happened to us! You didn't see what happened!"

Liara and Garrus backed up, unsure of what was happening. They have never seen the Commander react like this. He was always either trying to smile at a good time, or he was a serious soldier to the bone. Never before has he broken down like this.

Zach backed up when he was done. The scientist was barely conscious now after the way he reacted. He balled up his fist. He's never done this in his career _ever. _He even avoided hurting Stark too much on Torfan because he didn't want to damage him beyond repair, even after Stark broke and fractured most of his ribs with his biotics. The scars remained on his chest from the surgeon's work trying to repair them. But this man now had a broken nose and jaw, and likely a fractured skull as well.

"Liara," Zach spoke calmly. "put him out of his misery."

"What?" Liara asked. "Are you sure?"

"If you kill him now, you would be showing him mercy. Leaving him here like this would be a long, painful death. And if I end his life now, I won't be merciful; not to a man who dares to say what he thinks happened on Akuze. He doesn't know what happened at all."

"And what about this 'Jessica' he was about to speak of?"

"She is dead now. What does it matter to you?"

Liara kept her mouth shut. It was obviously a touchy subject for the Commander, and given what happened to the dying man in front of her, she shouldn't push the subject if she wanted to get on his good side. She unclipped her pistol as he walked away, preparing herself mentally for what she was about to do.

"I can do that if you want to." Garrus offered compassionately. "If you're not ready to face the consequences-"

"No, Garrus." Liara spoke. "I have to do this. The Commander's right. If I kill him, I'd be showing him mercy. If you both killed him, it would not be mercy." She aimed her pistol at the man's head. "Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess." She fired a round into the man's skull, killing him instantly. His lifeblood began to pool out around the hole in his head.

"How do you feel, Liara?" Garrus asked. "Are you okay? That was your first kill, right?"

"Yes, Garrus. It was my first kill. I think I'll be all right, but the feeling that I had his life in my hands; the feeling was scary."

Garrus turned her to face him, and they hugged each other. "It's okay. Everyone has that feeling at first. They get used to it after a while. Even I'm used to it, but that's probably because I'm trained to be a soldier."

"Perhaps. Thanks, Garrus. I feel a little better about it now."

"You're welcome. If you ever need anything, I'll be here for you. You only need to ask." Garrus brought his mouth to her forehead, doing something he saw a human couple do before. His lips kissed the top of her forehead, and his hand rubbed her back assuredly.

Liara didn't know what to do after Garrus's first move. She didn't expect him to do something like what he just did to her. She liked the moment, but she was unsure of how to return the favor. Coming up with a decision, she brought her hand to his right mandible, clasping it gracefully. Garrus looked into her blue eyes, his eyes calm and peaceful compared to her own, which appeared to be turning misty. She was smiling at him, and he wanted to lean in and kiss her like most humans had been doing since before their introduction to the galaxy.

_"Garrus, Liara, did you get lost in there? Or did T'soni break down in sobs over the order I gave her?"_

Garrus and Liara broke their intimate moment over Shepard's interruption. Garrus chuckled and mustered a smile at Liara. He clasped his earpiece. "Shepard, this is Garrus. We decided to look around for a little bit longer to make sure the building was clear. We're heading out now." He released his hold on his earpiece and saw Liara had her arms crossed behind her back, looking at the ground as she slid her right foot back and forth.

"Garrus, would you like to come to my office later to continue this conversation?"

Garrus chuckled again. "Sure. How about when Shepard doesn't have an oppurtunity to interrupt us."

"Deal." Liara agreed. And with that, they exited the complex, trying to hide any evidence of their moment from Shepard.

Zach saw the two of them enter the mako quietly. He wondered for only a second if something happened between the two of them, but shrugged it off to continue driving. The drive this time was quieter. It was probably because of how he reacted to the scientist. Never had he ever flip out like that on anyone before. It was unnerving that he had easily snapped over the mentioning of everyone on Akuze. He was only thankful that Liara and Garrus weren't questioning him about it. _Yet._

"Are you all right, Commander?" Liara finally asked.

Zach only shook his head.

"Listen, we won't ask what happened. But if you need to talk about this, we'll be here."

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine." Zach assured them. "It was just that that man pissed me off, which isn't easy."

"You did beat him pretty hard, though." Garrus stated. "It's amazing that man was alive at all after what you did. He should be happy Liara was able to offer him a quick death."

"So Liara was able to pull it off?"

"Yes. She did a good job. No hesitation, and she only did it in the act of mercy."

"Good."

"Now all we need to do is find the last base to stop Cerberus."

"I think we'll be approaching it soon. Just you wait."

_Darkness. That was what he first remembered as he felt his spirit being ripped from his cage. He never reached the afterlife after his death. In fact, right now his death was a little fuzzy. He remembered a flash of light but nothing else at the moment. _

_Then memories started to pour into him. He remembered ships, the faces of his mother and father, and friends he grew to like more than others. He remembered a great battle that ensued in a peaceful city as he led many people against an armada of ships. There were explosions and ships falling from the sky and bullets flying everywhere. He felt his throat become cold and he remembered he had an injury. It was grail, but he pushed on to save the city from the invaders. He was a hero. That was what he was._

_The light returned and he felt his spirit floating towards it. Where was he going now? Was he to finally see if Heaven accepts him or if he deserved Hell? Was this all just a game or a dream that he was waking up from?_

_The light faded and he could see... something. But his vision was red, which didn't make any sense to him. He attempted to look around, but something was stopping him from moving. Perhaps he was strapped down to something._

_"Sir," He heard a voice say. "Project Collosus is moving."_

"What is his brain activity?"_ Another voice spoke. This new voice sounded strange to him, as if there was an echo to his words._

_"Off the charts. He's curious of what has happened. I'm impressed with myself. I didn't think Collosus would succeed, truthfully."_

"You've done good work, Doctor. Now I ask that you leave us alone for a moment. I wish to explain the situation to the subject."

_"Very well, sir." He saw the one man leave as the table he was on was tilted until he felt level with the other man. This stranger in front of him wore a mask and a strange suit. Even with his red eyes, he could make out glowing blue eyes on this person, whoever he was._

"Blink twice if you can hear me."

_He did as was commanded._

"Excellent. My name is The Stranger. I saved your soul and your mind to grant you new life. You died in service to the tale, and I was granted the oppurtunity to grant you your life back. Unfortunately, there were some complications that required a more severe way to bring you back. But I cannot just explain it to you. You already have a sign of your augmentation to resurrect you. You see only in red right now, yes."

_He blinked twice._

"I will release your restraints, but I ask you attempt to remain calm once you see the truth. Can you do that?"

_He blinked twice._

_The Stranger then activated his omni-tool and released his restraints. At first he felt heavy, and he toppled to the ground, catching himself with his hands._

_That's when he realized what had happened to him._

_His arms and hands looked synthetic; a bunch of tubes surrounding metal frames meant to simulate bone. He stood up and noticed more of his new body. It was strange to him. He was scared, but he also felt stronger._

"This is the first step of one evolutionary process. Your brain was the only thing salvageable from your death, but everything of what you once were will grow back over time. Your skin, blood, and organs will grow within and around this golem body you possess now. You will one day be the man you once were and more. You are nearly invulnerable with this body, but you still need to train to understand your full capabilities. I brought you back, and I ask you aid me in making the galaxy a better place. Do you accept?"

_He couldn't speak his acceptance, but he was able to make a noise_._ The Stranger noticed his acceptance, and nodded._

"Welcome back, Maine."

Back at the last base, Zach hurled a grenade at the Cerberus guards approaching. He didn't like to use grenades much as he had no actual skill throwing them. But the high explosive knocked them back. Firing a few bullets, they froze and died. Looking to his right, he saw Liara lift an enemy up for Garrus to shoot him in the head. Running to the next spot, he cut the last scientist down quickly, hoping that if he shut this one up quickly, he didn't have to deal with them pestering him about his past again.

"That's it. Bag them and tag them." Garrus spoke.

"Not yet. We still have to deal with their experiments." Zach activated the control panel and the energy shields failed. The creatures screamed and ran to attack, only to get caught in Liara's singularity. Taking fire on the captured prey, the fight ended before it even began.

Zach smiled for only a second before noticing the body.

Putting away his weapon, he ran towards the man in dressed blues, checking to see if he was still alive. But needle marks within his neck indicated the worst: he was dead.

"Oh, no." Liara spoke. "It's Admiral Kahouku."

"He was murdered; a syringe sent a poison through his body, and then he was given to these things to be their next meal."

"Commander, I'm picking up a signal." Garrus spoke as he fidgeted with his omni-tool. "It appears to be coming from another base off-planet."

"Send the signal to the Normandy. We'll go to the location and stop Cerberus once and for all. We owe it to Kahouku." _And if my instincts are correct, I owe it to my friends as well. I won't stop until Cerberus is done for. I won't._

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So I wish I updated this sooner, but since five people are quitting at work, my schedule was a little busier than I wanted it to be. Mom's struggling to find new replacements who don't have a criminal record (she's already had to fire two employees for stealing money from us). Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that I was in talks with my two famous followers Bud89 and Admiral Anderson, and it was decided that Mass Effect: Elysium will be the first side story written for the Zach Shepard legacy. I plan on stopping Resolution around Chapter 25; The First Kill, to get Elysium out. It will contain a prologue, three chapters, and an epilogue. Once it is finished, Resolution will be continued for a time before the next short story comes out, which will be Metropolis.

Moving on to other matters how many of you were surprised by the unveiling of the greatest comeback in recorded history? Or were it better to say you weren't surprised at all? Whatever you decide to count it as. Also, did anyone see the Dragon Age reference in the story? I've been playing it a lot as of late. What about the Citadel DLC? Anybody have any thoughts? Does anyone want me to come out with a video expressing my concerns before it comes out and how I feel about it after playing through it? Why am I asking too many questions?

Shoutout to Bud89, Admiral Anderson, and shipwreck123.

P.S. If you're wondering what Everything by Adam Roth is, copy this link to listen to this man's incredible talent. I really like Adam Roth's work, and there are references throughout the story to other songs of his.

Link: watch?v=fA2RDCjEsvo


	25. Chapter 24: Hades' Dogs

Chapter 24: Hades' Dogs

Zach stepped off of the elevator with Liara, who had already placed her weapon and armor within her locker downstairs. She seemed calm about her first kill during the mission, which made Zach's suspicions a little more tense. He didn't have her kill the scientist bastard because he considered it a mercy. He had her do it because he wanted to see how strong her resolve was. Liara ended that man's life and still holds her head high. Perhaps all asari are born to be able to withstand the emotional guilt of ending a life.

Even a scientist like Dr. Liara T'soni.

Pulling his rifle off his back, he typed in the code of his locker and slid his weapons in. He held his Striker VIII in his hand a little longer, remembering how it was with this weapon he made his first kill. The memory of what he had done always ate away at him when he made another kill. If he had waited a second longer or aimed a little lower, he could've missed the jugular with his shot. But he reacted too quickly, and he lost a friend.

Shaking the memory away, he put the pistol away and closed his locker. He was about to head to his cabin and remove his armor, but he remembered that he left Tali there to try and get some rest. Instead, he headed to Dr. Chakwas's office to remove his armor.

"Any injuries, Commander?" Chakwas asked as she watched the soldier remove his armor.

"No. I left Tali in my room, so I didn't want to disturb her if she fell asleep."

"May I ask why you did that?"

"She had trouble sleeping. I figured if she just lay in a soft bed with a bit of music or something, she would doze off and get some well-deserved rest."

"And how about you, Commander? How well are you resting?"

Zach paused as he pulled off his chest piece. "Sleep is bearable."

"Your darkened circles around your eyes say differently, Commander. This mission is either working you too hard, or you are having trouble sleeping. Have the visions been bothering you?"

"I've been blocking the visions since I first had them."

"Something else bothers you, then?"

Zach took off his last piece of armor. "Nothing that requires your attention, Doctor."

"Commander, I have psychological training as well as having experience with soldiers physical wounds. I can tell something troubles you."

Zach walked out, annoyed at Chakwas trying to push the subject. His lack of sleep didn't need to be observed by a doctor. He would be fine. He endured six years of horrible dreams. He can endure a little longer. He needed to endure a little longer.

He opened his cabin door to the sight of Tali in his bed, sound asleep to the sad tune of Everything by Adam Roth. It reminded him too much of how he once thought Jessica was all he ever needed, and the end always reminded him she was gone. Keeping his footsteps quiet, he walked over to her. He noticed her veil and belt on the table, and he almost tripped over her boots on the floor.

_So the suit has multiple pieces to it? Well, I guess it makes sense, given that it must be a pain to put it on._ Zach looked at her closer as he crouched down next to her. He could see her eyelids behind the helmet, closed shut but lightly fluttering over her dreams. He raised himself a bit to see the back of her protective helmet. The tubes and wires connected to her suit and the backplate to her mask made Zach's heart sink a bit. It must be hard living inside a suit that meant survival or death for her entire life. It was a cage or prison to her; denying her the freedom of holding Zach's bare hand if they were to ever walk on the Citadel casually like friends. How he wished he could grant at least Tali the gift of freedom from this lifeline that could mean life or death.

But he was no miracle worker. He didn't have the power to wave a hand and make it so. He didn't have any scientific expertise to develop a solution to her problem. She would always have a weak immune system and he would feel bad about it. Why? Because he felt he really owed her. She's done so much for him in so little time, and he felt like he owed her a debt that could not be repayed. Some other people may call it stupid if they were to know how he felt about this, but he didn't care.

"Shepard,..." Tali mumbled. Zach froze, unsure if he woke her or if she was merely dreaming. Looking back down, he noticed that her eyelids were still closed, so she must've still been asleep.

"Tali," Zach whispered.

"Why does your skin feel so cold? I thought you'd be warmed by Tikkun's beams by now."

That gave Zach pause. What kind of dream was Tali having? Was Tikkun her home world's sun?

"Shepard?" She spoke again.

Zach sighed, hoping what he was going to say didn't wake her up. "I'm cold because my heart is broken." He looked down and felt a tear drop off of his skin to the floor.

"Shepard, it's okay." Tali spoke. "I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you. Just like you're here for me now." Zach could've sworn he saw her smile then. "Isn't Rannoch beautiful, Zach?"

"Yes, it is." Zach said, deciding it wouldn't hurt her dream if he spoke quietly next to her.

"There is no way I could ever repay you for helping me get my home back. I'm still not sure we can trust the geth with that truce you were able to pull off, but I trust you, Commander."

Zach chuckled. "Good. And don't worry. If they get out of hand, I'll show them what happens when they disrespect me."

Tali laughed. "That I'd pay to see. But I think it's time we walked back to the house now. I'm feeling tired now."

"I could carry you if you want."

"I'd like that a lot. All that swimming really tired me out today. It'd be nice to know I'm safe in your arms."

"I'll always protect you, Tali." And Zach knew deep within his soul he meant it.

"I know. You're a Guardian, Shepard. You'll always protect me from harm. It's your job, your duty, and your life. And I'll always feel like I owe you for everything you have done for me. There's no way I can repay you for this."

Zach felt his breath catch in his throat. He felt indebted to her for the little she's done, yet she would feel indebted to him for accomplishing great things that haven't happened yet. It was strange. Giving in to his past, he did something he normally did with Jessica every time he snuck out of her house after she fell asleep. He brought his lips to the top of Tali's mask and lightly placed his lips where her forehead would be. He held it for two seconds before gently breaking away.

Walking to the desk where he recently gave away his bible to Tali, he took out the black box that held what was perhaps the source of his troubles. He opened it and held the metal chain in his hand. He would have to give this up before he likely became insane. Perhaps he could give it to Tali before she returned to her people as a going away present. For now, he would keep it safe in the box hidden in his desk. He put it away and exited the room quietly, acting as if he never disturbed her.

Down in the cargo hold, Wrex fidgeted with his shotgun, preparing it for the next mission. He volunteered to join Shepard destroy the Cerberus base they were after. That meant he wanted to make sure his shotgun was equipped with the best incendiary rounds he had. He finished his work and noticed the elevator door opened. Shepard stepped out, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So, we got Saren on the run." Wrex spoke, deciding to start a conversation with the Commander as he folded his shotgun up.

"It won't be much longer." Shepard agreed. "Saren's good, but I'm better."

"Good? He's rotten _to the core._ I could tell as soon as I met him."

That gave the Commander pause. "Wait, you've met Saren?"

"Yeah. It was a while back. A bunch of mercs were bragging about a job one day. It payed well, and the boss wasn't around to hound us. We were making raids throughout the Terminus systems. One day, we boarded this massive cargo freighter, our biggest haul yet. I was searching the bodies of the dead for valuables when I saw him. One merc called him by name, but he didn't speak to anybody. I had a bad feeling about him, so I got the hell out. I didn't even wait to get paid."

"Whose ship was it you boarded?"

"It was a volus supply freighter. There were a few turian guards onboard, but they were no match for us."

"What did Saren want with the ship?"

"I don't know. All I saw was things like medical supplies and food. There were some basic weapons, but nothing big. If there was anything valuable onboard the ship, I didn't see it. That's why I didn't mention it sooner."

"That was the only time you saw him?"

"Yes. I wouldn't have known who he was if I hadn't joined up. But my instincts were right. Every merc on that job ended up dead within a week. Every damn one."

"Your survival instinct kicked in there. If they hadn't, you wouldn't be here."

"Yeah, and I imagine missions and shore leave would be so much more boring without me." Wrex joked.

"I'm sure if we didn't have a krogan on our side, we'd get this mission done slower than we wanted to."

"And we don't want that. We want Saren dead now. And when that moment comes, it will be a glorious moment for us all."

"Hell, yeah! Drinks for everyone!" Garrus yelled from his spot in the cargo hold.

"And may the Lord and spirits be with us all. Amen." Shepard agreed.

Wrex smiled. When this was over, he'd drink a barrel of ryncol to celebrate their victory.

Zakera Ward Medical Center, 12:13 pm

Talitha scrolled the page on the datapad as she took another scoop of mashed potatoes in her mouth. Reading along the phrases, she tried to make out the words on the page. She was learning how to read again, so she was starting with a basic story. However, the rest of the stories were for a more advanced reading level, but once Stark had read her the descriptions to the stories, she had to take the opportunity to read them. The one that caught her eye, though, was _Love Conquers All_ by Zach Moore.

Apparently, Zach Moore was hailed one of the best aspiring artists of his generation by over fourty avid book groups; most of the them being turian, asari, and hanar-based. There's even mentioning of one quarian pilgrim that asked for a special edition copy of the story to possibly use as a pilgrimage gift. Apparently, he was so moved by the quarian's request he visited the flotilla and gave all of those serving in the crew she wished to join free copies of the special edition version, which included some more _personal _scenes, and had a special sneak peek to the sequel that came out recently; _Hybrid's Gaze._

The author's photo showed a young man around Talitha's age. Stark claimed that the person in the photo looked much like Commander Shepard, a soldier who killed their brother, Robert. She had pulled out a picture of the man and compared it to the author's photo. They did bear some similarities, but their expressions were different. Shepard looked as if he was the perfect combination of sad and serious, and Moore looked like he was static. He didn't seem to want to smile for his picture, which confused Talitha. Wouldn't most people want to smile when their picture is taken?

She looked over at her brother, who had been drawing some schematics for something; perhaps a weapon of some kind. He seemed trapped in his work until he saw his sister staring at him.

"You okay, Talitha?"

"What'cha working on?"

"Just a prototype design for a weapon you might not want to use. You don't look like the kind of person who loves shotguns; let alone killing someone."

"And yet we killed our master."

Stark arched a brow. "Why do you speak that way? You make it sound like there's two people living inside you."

"Well, there's a voice in my head. She claims she's the part of me I lost during my time as a slave. We're not whole, so she speaks for herself in my head, and I speak for both of us whenever I talk."

"We must be one messed-up family, then. I swear, sometimes I literally think my knife is talking to me. It's kind of wierd."

Talitha laughed; it sounded out of practice due to her captivity, where there was no opportunity to laugh. "Why don't you show us what you're making."

"Very well, girls." He joked. He walked up until he was beside her, crouching down so she could see. "I came up with a prototype shotgun after..." he paused for a second. "my experience with Torfan. I call it the Crusader. It's meant to work well against foes up close, dishing out pain quickly and effectively. Unfortunately, it's a little bulkier than the Katana I use right now. I want to pass the plans to Admiral Hackett once I've come up with the finishing touches."

"Despite my normal self's disliking of violence, I think your prototype looks good. I hope it can be used for good things."

"If I have a say, I want it to be used in colonial defense. I don't want another incident like Mindoir to ever happen again."

"Neither do we." Talitha spoke, shaking her head at her insanity.

Stark hugged his sister and kissed her forehead. "I won't let anything ever happen to you again, Talitha. I'll kill anyone who would dare try to hurt you. You're the only other good thing I have in my life."

"You're the only good thing I have, big brother. And I don't want you to get yourself killed protecting me."

"I don't think it will come to that."

Before Talitha could continue, the doors opened and two figures entered holding flowers, candy, balloons, and what looked like a giant stuffed varren toy. They placed the items down and revealed they were the two dock workers from yesterday's encounter on the Citadel docks.

"Hello!" The younger one said. "We thought we'd visit real quick and drop off some things to show you our support in your efforts to recover from our, uh, abrupt first meeting and anything before that."

"Sorry about that." She apologized.

"No harm done." The older one spoke. His skin tone was a little tanner than his brother's which was a pinkish hue. "You didn't shoot us, so we can forgive and forget. It was Shawn's idea to get you these things. I spent all the money."

"You're being modest. He also picked out the flowers and chocolates. I recommend you try the asari butter-caramal first. It tastes so delicious, like I'm drinking from the asari's fountain of youth."

"Shawn chose the stuffed animal. I argued, but we either had to get you the varren or the varterral. I think we know which creature could give you less nightmares. We would've given you a pyjack, but they were out of stock."

"It is the thought that counts, Ethan. Varren can be like dogs, watchful of danger and loyal to their masters. Like a mabari."

"What's a mabari? And a varterral?" Talitha asked, a confused look on her face.

"They're mythical creatures from a game Ethan's friend Gin plays all the time." "A mabari's just a war dog, and a varterral is a strange creature that acts like a giant spider at times. It's creepy as hell. I have no idea who made the doll or why Shawn would think it's appropriate to buy a traumatized girl one."

"Who said anything about giving it to the traumatized girl?

"Shawn, you're nineteen and you were able to get your education. You don't need stuffed animals to keep you company."

Shawn groaned.

"Well, it's been nice visiting you, Starks. My brother and I will take our leave of you. Say goodbye, Shawn."

"Good-bye!" And the two brothers left the hospital room. "She's kind of cute."

"She's not your type, Shawn. You are a buffoon. She's a victim. Buffoons and victims don't go hand in hand."

"Hey!" Shawn complained. "Quit hating on me!"

"It's just tough love. Come on. Let's meet Rebecca for lunch and pray Tracy doesn't mess anything up at the docks."

Orbiting Nepheron, 17:17 pm

Columbia System, Voyager Cluster

Tali stretched as she walked out of the Commander's room, dressed in her full attire again. She felt renewed and re-energized after being asleep for nearly twelve hours. The song she left playing was stuck in her head, however, so Tali didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It sounded catchy, but it was also sad. Perhaps the creator of the song had lost someone important around the time he wrote that song. She should look up Adam Roth on the extranet some time.

She turned to see Shepard hooking up his guns to their armor clips. His back was facing her, but she could tell he noticed her as he turned.

"Tali," he spoke. "Sleep well?"

"No thanks to Joker's driving, but yes."

"I'm glad. You looked like you were going to collapse before I left for the mission on Binthu. You slept through quite a lot. Garrus, Liara, and I succeeded on Binthu when we stopped Cerberus operations within the area. Unfortunately, we found Admiral Kahouku murdered in the last base. We're currently over Nepheron to take out one of their major bases. These bastards are going to get what's coming to them."

Tali cocked her head. "You sound angry, Commander."

He shook his head. "One of the scientists... really pissed me off. I don't want to get into it yet, but Garrus and Liara saw the whole thing. It was really bad."

"Do you need someone to moderate shields in the mako for your current mission?"

Shepard smiled. "Sure. Wrex already agreed to join me on the mission. He isn't one for sharing the cannon."

"Which is unsurprising for a krogan. I'll be ready to go in a few. You can get the mako started."

"Already did it. Garrus hopes we don't wreck it as much as the last time we drove together."

"That's Garrus for you." Tali laughed. They stepped into the elevator and let it descend in silence. When the door opened, she headed to her locker and typed in her code to grab her shotgun.

"So, you volunteered, too?" Wrex asked. "I would've thought he'd give you more chance to prepare."

"For what?"

"Your first kill."

"Tali doesn't need to fire her weapon unless absolutely necessary." Shepard acknowledged behind them. "Right now, I want her to focus on attacking her enemies with tech attacks. We'll handle them from there."

Wrex laughed. "Good. More action for the professionals."

"I still want you to take things slow, Tali. There's no rush to killing someone in military training."

Tali only nodded. She equipped her gun to its clip and headed to the mako. They all piled in and prepared for their cue to drop. The platform opened and the mako drove out of the ship, slowing down with the thrusters to land softly on the ground. The planet had a light ground, and Tali couldn't tell if the ground was covered in snow, sand, or ash. Shrugging it off, she moderated the shields as the mako drove along.

Once Garrus confirmed the mako was gone, he headed to the elevator and waited impatiently for it to reach the top. He could've easily hacked the elevator to move at a faster pace, but Ashley would likely call him up as an infiltrator or something if she caught him messing with the Normandy's systems. He walked out immediately once the doors opened. Waving to Dr. Chakwas as she left to grab a meal, Garrus sucked in a breath, being nervous about what Liara would likely say.

"Liara?" He knocked on her door as he spoke. "It's Garrus. Can I come in?"

Liara opened the door for him, standing behind it with a smile. "Hello, Garrus. It's good to see you. Please, do come in."

Garrus entered the office, holding in some of his manly composure. "So, Liara-"

"Let me talk first, Garrus." Liara interrupted.

"Uh, okay."

"Before you say anything, I want you to know I find you very intriguing and compelling for a turian. But I think we're pushing this. I've been thinking about this, and I've realized it's only been two days. We're already pushing this too fast. You're giving me rather obvious signs you like me, and that moment in the base once Shepard left was- I think it just came too suddenly. I don't even know that much about you yet, and yet I feel drawn to you."

"Well, Liara, if you want to know more about me, I'm right here. I understand your hesitance with us; truthfully, I was hoping you weren't going to say something like 'I'm not interested in you' or 'I want to rip that armor off you right now.'"

"You actually thought I was going to tell you to let me rip your armor off?"

"Well, no, but some of the stigma towards your species states you crave sex."

"I'm not that outgoing, Garrus. I've spent most of my life in front of ruins with field equipment and microscopes. I'm still a virgin, as humans put it. I've never had sex."

"Well, I hope it doesn't bother you if I say I'm not a 'virgin' but I've only done it once with another turian during my time in the military."

"No, that doesn't bother me at all, Garrus. At least you're being honest about it. It just bothers me that this is all too sudden."

"Well, why don't we just sit out in the cafeteria and have a drink; allow me to talk about myself. Then we'll see where it goes from there on out."

Liara nodded. "Okay. Thank you for understanding, Garrus."

"You bet." Garrus held out his hand and escorted Liara to the mess area and grabbed two bottles; one marked specially for turians. He held out the one for Liara, and she took it from his hands. "So, how about I start with my childhood and work my way up. Does that sound good to you?"

Liara laughed. "I don't think I could imagine you as a child."

"Neither could I. But it turns out, we're all a child at some point." Garrus grinned. "Now, I was born on Palaven..."

On Nepheron, Zach stepped out of the mako ready to fight. The Cerberus forces outside were easily picked off with the use of the mako's cannon. Wrex stepped out with his shotgun in hand, stepping on the ashes of one disintegrate soldier. The ashes scattered in the wind from the force of his foot colliding with the ground. Tali exited the mako as the two warriors headed for the door, looking at the ashes Wrex had stepped upon.

"Garrus really worked on the mako's cannon. I mean, it's kind of sad to see the ashes of someone on the ground, but it's very satisfying to see the bastards dead, right?"

"Coming from someone who hasn't taken a life, it doesn't sound as awesome." Wrex laughed.

"Let's focus on the mission, not the dead." Zach commented as he opened the door. He stepped cautiously inside. Noticing here were no guards ahead, he signaled the crew to move in. Tali pulled out her shotgun, but she wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary. Zach opened a door on the far side of the wall and entered the small hallway.

"Okay, behind this door is a large group of Cerberus forces. Tali, I want you to stay in cover, focus on removing the shields of their soldiers and sabotage any of their weapons. Wrex, let loose with everything you've got. I'll do what I do best. We make this quick and efficient. When this is over, we'll find some time to celebrate."

Tali sucked in a breath. "Okay. I'm ready."

Wrex brought up his shotgun. "Let's get moving."

"Okay. Mark." Zach quickly opened the door and aimed his rifle at the first enemy. He pulled the trigger and froze the target with his bullets. An alarm blared and more enemies poured near their entrance. Wrex threw some enemies into the direction they came from, and Tali sent an overload attack at the ones still standing. Two aimed their guns at her, but Zach's shields immediately took the impact as he swung her behind him. Setting his rifle for overkill, he sent a continuing barrage of bullets within the shieldless attackers.

"Stay behind me!" Zach ordered Tali.

"But your shields have taken fire. You should let them recharge a bit."

"Better I take one bullet protecting you than you taking one and not coming back to the ship."

Tali shook her head at Shepard's recklessness. He just had to be macho at a moment like this.

"Stay here, Tali." He brought her to a wall and they hid behind it. "How are you doing, Wrex?"

"I'm kicking ass." He roared and rammed into a soldier, knocking him into a wall and shooting him with his shotgun. Zach swerved and began attacking the forces attempting to flank the massive krogan. Tali sabotaged the weapons of two other soldiers coming for Wrex. Within thirty seconds since then, the sound of battle died, and Wrex laughed at their triumph.

"You know, for a krogan who wishes for peace with the other species, Wrex, you apparently like to fight." Tali joked.

"It's just krogan nature. I've grown accustomed to fighting worthy advesaries. Sure, I want the krogan to cooperate with the other races, but krogan are still born for war."

"Let's look around. We need to see if there are any more Cerberus personnel in the facility." Zach stated. Moving towards a door on the opposite end of the room, he opened it and walked slowly. He turned to the right when the next door opened, but stopped when he heard the gun behind his head.

"Stop right there, Alliance scum."

_Crap. _Zach thought. He needed to come up with some way to get out of this moment, but no opportunity was presenting itself.

"This pistol is equipped with phasic rounds; it'll penetrate your shields and kill you at this close range. Any last words before you die?"

Zach smiled as he heard Wrex's shotgun. "Just one: shotgun."

The man behind him hit the wall after the sound of a shotgun blast. Zach turned to face the body, but became puzzled when he realized the body wasn't disintegrating. He turned to face his team member, and his confusion was cleared.

Tali stood absolutely still; her eyes locked on the body on the floor. Her body shook and the shotgun dropped to the floor; the barrel still smoking. Wrex walked in, noticing the carnage that had ensued. He looked at Zach, held an expression of guilt combined with approval, and cleared his throat.

"I'll look around the back room. You take all the time you need with her." He stepped around Tali, carefully walked over her shotgun, and headed in the direction Zach was about to head before this event.

"Tali?" Zach asked, his voice filled with worry. "Are you okay?"

Tali broke her gaze from the corpse and looked at the Commander. His expression was so saddening, so worrying, Tali couldn't hold in her emotions. She began to cry, placing her hand on her mask. But then she felt her hand being grasped by Shepard's. Zach brought her hand into his and brought her in for a warm, heart-felt hug. It was only for about ten seconds, but for Zach and Tali, it felt like an eternity.

"Tali, it's all right now. It's over. You did the right thing. I know it feels hard to accept you took someone's life, but it's only for a second."

"Why do your eyes instantly become sad, then? Every time I've looked at your eyes, you're always sad when an enemy dies."

Zach exhaled. "Tali, when we get back on the ship, I want you to come up to my cabin. I think it's time you know about... my first kill."

_"Shepard," _Wrex called from the comm. _"I've got something. Looks like a terminal with useful data. You might want to come check it out."_

Zach slowly let go of Tali, picked up her shotgun, folded it up, and gave it back to her. "We're coming, Wrex." Removing his hand from the comlink, he rubbed Tali's shoulder. "Are you going to be fine for the rest of the mission?"

Tali sniffed. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Let's go."

Zach smiled and walked with her to Wrex's position. "What have we got?"

"A console. I haven't touched it, but I think it might have useful intel."

Zach turned to Tali. "Do you want to handle this or should I?"

"I can do it, Commander. Don't worry." Tali walked up to the console and activated her omni-tool. Suddenly, the console made a noise. "It's trying to wipe its hard drive, as I figured. I'm collecting as many files as I can."

"Do it quickly. We don't have much time."

Tali was able to collect fourty-seven encrypted files from the computer before it crashed. "I've got much of the data, but the rest is gone."

"We'll forward it to Alliance Command once we're on the Normandy. Good work, everyone."

A few minutes after Zach, Wrex, and Tali left, the prisoner walked out of his cage. He was weakened by his captors for years. The injections of thresher maw venom into his veins still burned in his memory and haunted his dreams. He shuddered at the memories and walked to his items held on the table. His rusted armor and weapons had been kept here with him on Nepheron for _six fucking years_ of his life. For too long Cerberus has held him hostage. But he remembered the names of the scientists that held him captive: Reeves, Phoenix, Freeman, and Wayne. He would hunt them down, execute them, and set the ghosts of Akuze at rest.

Of this, Corporal Kyle Toombs swore.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so other than the whole work senario, I've also been spending most of my time trying to get back to ME3. Thomas Shepard is almost at the end of the second game (and he's all set to romance Tali :-) !) so I'm hoping to be able to play the Citadel DLC soon. Please NO SPOILERS still. I want to be surprised by this.

The next chapter is The First Kill, and is where I will stop to get Mass Effect: Elysium out of the way. Elysium will show how Maine became the Hero of Elysium and will introduce a few more RVB cameos (Maine is based off the Meta, of course his friends would be more freelancers), including a _very secret _cameo that I just can't spoil _period._ The ending will also show Zach Shepard, as this is the Zach Shepard universe story line.

The next chapter will also include a copy/paste link to an epic, fast-paced song that will work for a fight scene flashback: Shepard vs Stark on Torfan. Anderson and Bud89 already know about it (sorry I blasted it in your ears, though) so it won't be a surprise to them, but ever since I came up with Stark, this fight scene has been in my mind once I came up with the idea. I hope you'll all enjoy it, and I hope the next chapter will come out a little faster.

Shoutout to Bud89, Admiral Anderson, shipwreck321 (I apologize for switching the numbers around last time), and I'm throwing in firesprite1123 for joining the group and sending an excellent private message to me recently. I hope he shall take the time to perhaps review my story with the others, and that some of the others who pitched in before can rejoin from their time in cryo sleep (or perhaps their busy lives. I don't know for certain.) some time. Anyways, hold in your anticipation and grab some popcorn. The next chapter is all about action, drama, romance, and who knows what else could be thrown in. :-)


	26. Chapter 25: The First Kill

Chapter 25: The First Kill

**Quicknote: There is a music track that I believe fits well with one part of the story. When you see the bold link, it is recommended you copy the link and place it in a second tab. The song is fast paced and you may not be able to visualize the scene fast enough to read it at first, so read the part of the story and listen to the song after you have the scene in your head. The song Suffocate is not mine, but I found it a fitting song for the scene. All rights of the song belong to Adam Roth. Enjoy. :-) **

Thirty minutes after returning to the Normandy, Tali nervously stepped on the elevator from the cargo hold. Her hands couldn't stop fidgeting. She tried to calm down but she couldn't. Was it just shock from her first kill, or was she afraid she might do something stupid listening to Shepard's stories?

Tali shuddered at the thoughts. Remembering the body slummed on the floor as she pulled the trigger; the fact that she held the power to take someone's life, the reality had hit her like the mako slamming into a geth armature. Shepard was right. She wasn't ready. As for Shepard, it became clear to Tali that his first kill must've affected him in a way no one could've anticipated hence the sad look in his eyes every time someone he kills dies.

The elevator finally opened and Zach nearly ran into Tali as she tried to leave to meet him.

"Tali." Zach spoke, surprise in his tone. "I was just about to get you."

"I thought I'd come up early, Shepard. Everything looked all right in the engine room."

"You okay? I almost ran you over. I didn't mean to do that."

"I'm okay. Sort of."

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

"Uh, yes, I think. I'm either nervous or still shaken up about what happened on Nepheron. I don't know. My mind's all confused and I just can't stop thinking about everything and..." Tali twirled her fingers. "And I'm talking too much."

"I don't mind. You've had a lot going on recently. You were tired, homesick, and now you're shaken up. That's why I invited you up." Zach led Tali back to his cabin again for the second time in a matter of hours. Taking two bottles off of his office desk, he offered one to Tali.

"What's this?"

"It's dextro-Voltage. I thought it'd be best to keep you off of the good stuff. No offense, but you seem like the type of girl who couldn't hold her liquor."

"I think I could handle the good stuff."

"I don't think you could. I want my crew at full operating capacity. If you're passed out on the floor, you wouldn't be much help to the ship."

Tali sighed. "I guess you have a point." She connected the tube to her mask and waited for the seals to clamp down. "It's purified?"

"Triple-filtered. Calypso likes to let the galaxy know their product is safe."

Tali took a gulp of the drink and found herself enjoying the contents. It had a fruity taste, but it also felt a little fizzy. "This is good. I wish they served this on the fleet."

"I'm glad you like it." Zach took a gulp from his own tube. "Now, I think it's time I tell you about my first kill. You know how Stark hates me now?"

"Yeah. I remember you saying you were good friends with him once. Also, I think Stark had mentioned something about you taking away something he loved. Back when we found his sister after meeting Joshua."

"Yes." Zach sighed. "The truth is, my first kill was Stark's brother."

Tali swallowed the gulp of dextro-Voltage upon hearing that, and nearly choked on the realization. "You killed Stark's brother?!"

"It was an accident. He had been going crazy randomly; taking an admiral hostage and screaming about how he saw the end." Zach looked down. "I regretted what happened because I didn't hit him where I wanted to. If the bullet hadn't hit his artery..."

"How did it happen?

"It was a week after I fought Maine during his visit to the acadamy."

_Houston Alliance Training Facility, 13:37 pm_

_Alliance HQ in Texas; May 28th, 2176_

_Zach looked out from his view next to the window at the grounds below. He had his armor on and his pistol equipped to his side to be prepared for any senario. Normally, he used it only at the shooting range, but he kept it with him just in case. Next to him, one of the two newbies of the acadamy, Daniel Darsan, sat idly by reading a datapad. He and his best friend, Brodius Bardone, had recently come to train at the acadamy after Brodius's uncle was defeated at Elysium. Apparently, they had traded information with the Alliance in order to secure a position in their ranks and a prison sentence for the man despite his crazy plans for inventions that would've driven the Alliance out of the traverse. So far, both parties have honored the agreement._

_"Well, it appears your great victory over Maine has made it to the headlines." Daniel spoke, rubbing his recently shaved head. Zach had heard that Daniel complained about how they had to shave his head despite the fact that he loved having incredible hair. "I'm surprised you didn't celebrate more with us. It was funny seeing Robert jump off the bar yelling "Do it!" all the time."_

_"I got my ass kicked by a large, two-hundred and twenty pound man. Do you really think I was in the mood to celebrate?"_

_"You still beat him, though. That should've been reason enough to celebrate."_

_"Sorry. That just wasn't something I felt worth celebrating."_

_"Whatever you say. You wanna be the stick-up-the-ass soldier, it's your choice."_

_"Hey, I don't have a stick up my ass. I take my job seriously."_

_"You should take some R&R more often. You only have one life to live."_

_"I've spent my entire life devoting my precious time to others. It no longer feels natural to give some time to myself."_

_"Well, that's because no one's really given you anything. You always give more than you take."_

_"Yeah." Zach stared out the window for a few seconds longer. "Who's that?"_

_Daniel looked away from his datapad and out the window. "Oh, that's Admiral, uh, Waters or something like that. He was at Elysium leading the charge against Halliot's and Brodius's uncle's spaceships. His ship, the SSV Brussels, was nicknamed the Flying Dutchman because of his heritage, I think."_

_"What's he doing here?"_

_"Who knows. Maybe he heard about your showdown with Maine. Maybe he is looking for Brodius and I to thank us for our contributions towards Elysium's aid. Or maybe he just likes the countryside."_

_Zach rubbed his chin before he saw the admiral turn towards his friend, Robert Agustus Stark, who appeared to be shouting and waving his arms. There was a gun in his hand and the admiral was waving his own arms in what looked like an attempt to calm him down._

_"What the hell is Robert doing?" Zach finally asked, walking towards the stairwell to run outside and investigate. Daniel looked outside again before jumping up and running down the stairs. When both gentlemen were outside, They could hear Robert screaming about strange things._

_"You can't stop them! The voices, the sounds, they're in my head! They're telling me things no man wants to hear! Death is approaching us! No one is safe from the threat that shall consume us!"_

_"You need to stop this!" The admiral spoke. "You're going to start an uproar on the grounds!"_

_"No! I saw them all! Faces of death searing into my mind! Demons of man and machine! Demons of thoughts and lies! No one shall be safe from the never-ending death that will destroy all life!"_

_"Robert!" Zach called. "What are you doing?!"_

_Robert immediately pulled the trigger, shooting at Zach's feet but missing by inches. Zach jumped back, pulling out his own pistol. Daniel joined him, pointing their guns at Robert. In desperation, Robert grabbed the admiral, pointing the gun at the man's head. "Stay back! Do not turn friend into foe! We must all work together if we are to survive the foe that means to destroy us all!"_

_"Robert, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense and you're only making the situation worse by holding the admiral hostage!"_

_"You need to listen! You can't listen if I die! I know you won't shoot me when someone is in harm's way!"_

_"Shoot him!" The admiral yelled. "This man is delusional!"_

_"Shut up!" Robert yelled._

_"If we shoot through the admiral's shoulder, maybe we can disable Robert." Daniel suggested._

_"Not unless it's absolutely necessary." Zach cautioned._

_"Can't you understand?! Can't you see that the darkness is coming?! Shepard, you know of what I speak! Revelation will come and we will not be prepared! We will scurry around like rats as our people are slaughtered by the nightmares! This is the end!"_

_"Robert! Calm down!" Daniel yelled._

_"NO! I WON'T CALM DOWN! THE END IS NIGH!" Robert threw the admiral to the ground and pointed his pistol at Daniel, then grabbed the side of his neck after Zach's bullet travelled through him._

_Zach's jaw dropped as he saw his friend fall. He was attempting to disable him by hitting his shoulder, but instead, he hit the side of his neck. Robert began coughing up blood as more poured out onto the ground from the wound. Zach threw his gun to the ground and ran to Robert's side, crouching away from the blood to avoid getting some on his white armor._

_"Daniel, get some medi-gel!"_

_"We don't have enough time. It's all in the medical wing on the other side of HQ. There's no way we can save him."_

_"No! NO! Damn it! Why did I have to miss your shoulder, Robert?! Why did you have to make me shoot?!"_

_Robert coughed. "It's okay, Shepard. It's okay. The demons no longer will plague me. This is a mercy. I know you can stop the demons, Shepard. But I... I... couldn't." Robert turned his head and died._

_Zach couldn't believe it. This was the first life he had taken. It wasn't some low-life merc or pirate who deserved to die. It was a friend who had gone crazy for no reason at all. He kept trying to figure out where he went wrong; he knew his sights were for Robert's shoulder, but he missed. That shouldn't have been possible._

_"Thank you for saving my life, soldier." The admiral had spoken._

_"It came at a terrible cost." Zach spoke sadly._

_"I know. You have to understand there is no easy way out of situations like this. You did the right thing."_

_"Then why do I feel wrong?"_

_"That's the moral part of you speaking. Sometimes, your moral side will agree with your actions, and other times, it may not. It doesn't mean what you did was wrong, but part of you will always think it wasn't right."_

_"Yeah. I guess that's one way of putting it."_

_"I'll let Alliance Command know about this. You deserve some commendation for saving an admiral's life. As for your friend, I'm sorry it had to come down to this. He was screaming his head off about wierd things I don't think we need to get into just yet. Shake this off your shoulders. Mourn him and let go. And remember that even though he's gone, he'll always be a part of you." The admiral walked away, and Zach stood up._

_"He has a point." Daniel spoke._

_"Who?"_

_"Both of them. There may be demons to fight and you need to let go. This accident is in the past now with every second that goes by." Daniel handed Zach his pistol. "And besides, Robert would want you to move on."_

_"He was a good friend."_

_"And you should remember him for that."_

_Zach nodded. "I'll try." And deep within, he meant it._

"After that day, I was promoted to lance corporal, left the acadamy for the traverse, and time moved on. I could say I'm over Robert's death, but I'd be lying. Every time I end someone's life now, my eyes always become sad because it reminds me of Robert. It reminds me of how I failed to disable him instead of kill him. After a while, I equipped cryo rounds onto my gun so their deaths could only haunt me for mere seconds. Their bodies freeze and explode, leaving only a puddle of water and ice chunks. I find it to be a merciful death to some, even if they don't deserve mercy."

"Wow." Tali could only say. "I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah."

"I have a question. Garrus and Ashley told me your eyes become sad when you kill geth as well. Why? Is it because you consider the geth to be alive?"

"It's not because I see the geth as living things. The way I see it is that the geth programs are not artificial lifeforms, but rather artificial souls."

"Souls?"

"Yes. Organics dictate that our bodies possess souls that gather information and pass on to the afterlife when their body dies. Geth programs could be looked at the same way; their programming is the ghost in the machine and it gathers information from its tasks. This is all just my theory based on what you've told me and what I've attempted to read up on them over the past few days. I don't know if any of the geth would go to the afterlife when they die, but I think even a synthetic deserves some kind of peace after their 'death.'"

"These beliefs came from your religion?"

"Not exactly. I hold belief in a God that shaped all galactic life, but I don't hold any true claim over any religion; mainly because Father Callahan, the man who taught me about God, was a xenophobe. I think I shared that with you yesterday during breakfast."

"If you did hold a claim over a religion, what would it be, though?"

"Christianity. I found it to be the most satisfactory, unlike most of the other versions, which always carried some kind of strange burden. For example, did you know most people would hate you if you only trimmed your face instead of shaving it clean in the orthodox church? I had a friend in one of those groups and he didn't like their dirty looks. Other churches also say it's a sin to favor a romantic relationship with the same sex. I don't understand the concept, but I won't speak against it."

"Seriously? Are human religions so complex even when they're almost the same thing?"

"I'm probably exaggerating about this, but there are many forms of the same religion, and there's no way to tell which one is right. Some hold different concept than others, and that works fine for some people. I consider myself a Christian, but I don't agree with everything religion demands. I still do many things my religion states, such as not being a hedonist. Why else do you think I drink Voltage?"

"Have you ever dranken any real alcohol before?"

"Only on special occassions, which are few. Stark himself never took a religion, but it has been said people have seen him _pray _to God, which caught me by surprise given the first time I met him he seemed more like an atheist."

Tali dropped her bottle after removing it from her mask. "When we met Stark, you guys mentioned Torfan. What happened there?"

Zach put his own bottle down. "That's a bit more graphic than Robert's death, but I guess you deserve to know the story. Stark got his name, the Butcher of Torfan, when he sent his men into an ambush on the moon. Batarians armed with spike weapons and superior firepower tore his group to shreds. And he was busy interrigating a batarian hostage when it happened. The last he heard of his men were their screams of agony. I was about three clicks away from Stark, but even I could hear the biotic explosion that errupted the atmosphere of Torfan." Zach stood up, rubbing the back of his neck and sighing. "Once I saw the fires and heard the noises, I ran across the battlefield along Stark's trail of blood. The first survivors I encountered was a young batarian mother begging me to spare her and her baby's life."

_Torfan's surface, 16:23 pm_

_Skyllian Verge; March 14, 2178_

_Zach stopped at the doors to the underground complex where the batarian leaders were hiding. Evidence of Stark's killing spree could be seen; turrets destroyed from Stark's biotic attacks, batarians with their throats slit, vehicles on fire from being toppled by the biotic's destruction. It looked like a nightmare._

_"Damn it, Stark. What have you done?" Zach unclipped his pistol in the event that one batarian might precieve him as a threat and try to kill him. He slowed his pace to a walk, looking around his surroundings. Soon enough, he heard weeping around the corner. He lowered his gun and slowly turned the corner, seeing a batarian woman crying with her baby wrapped in cloth craddling in her arms. The body of one dead batarian was next to her, and her clothes were soaked in his life-blood._

_"Ma'am?" Zach softly spoke._

_The woman retreated at the sound of his voice, startling the child who started crying. "Stay back! Don't hurt me! I don't want trouble! I just want my baby to live! I want to protect my child from that demon you sent on us! He killed my husband! All my husband wanted was to provide for his family, and that __**butcher **__took him away from us!__"_

_"It's okay." Zach assured her. "I'm not your enemy. I have no quarrels with your species despite what many have done to humankind. But this man that killed your husband has lost much thanks to the batarians. His parents were murdered and his sister was likely turned into a slave when your kind attacked Mindoir. I would say your kind deserved it, but there's no way of knowing if anybody here was part of the raid."_

_"The humans started this when they began taking colonies in the traverse. Your selfish nature took resources that could've and __**should've **__been ours."_

_"Not all humans are selfish. I've given up more than I've had and lost more than I should've. I want the galaxy to cooperate without any hassle. And I want the man who did this released from his pain."_

_"He should be killed! He's an animal! He killed my husband when he surrendered for the sake of protecting his family!"_

_"Is your husband's family dead?"_

_The batarian shut her mouth and blinked her four eyes at that comment._

_"You're still alive. If Stark truly was a monster, you and your child would be lying dead on the floor next to him. Despite what you say, he has proven he still possesses his humanity and spared your life. A monster wouldn't do that."_

_She looked down. "Will you kill him?"_

_"I will stop him, but I can't kill him. I've caused him great pain and there's no way I could ever make it right. But killing him would be the easy way out. I believe he still has good in him if you're still breathing. If he can see it and forgive himself, then he could redeem himself of his crime. I know you might not ever forgive him as he may not forgive me, but it doesn't hurt to let go sometimes."_

_"It doesn't look like you've let go of something."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I can see it through your visor, human. You're still clinging to the past, just as I am now. Your eyes hold a deep sadness filled with suffering and loss. You've lost someone special. A bondmate, perhaps?"_

_Zach looked down. "Someone I wanted to be my bondmate."_

_That ended the conversation. "The butcher headed down the hall to the control center. Just follow the trail of blood." She grabbed his wrist as he stood up. "If you won't kill him, make him pay for what he's done somehow. My husband deserves retribution, but if I do forgive my husband's killer someday, then I will have found the peace you offer me."_

_"I promise you, your husband won't have died for nothing. Stark will be shown the error of his ways, and he'll turn away from the dark path he walks now. If he doesn't, then he may be taken by your people's vengeance one day."_

_"Good luck. May your gods bless you."_

_"May the Maker be on my side today. And may he grant you rest in your darkest hour." Zach began his running pace again, jumping over dead bodies and pools of blood. Minutes later, he had retreated deep into the base before he could see the command center. His radio began to beep in his ear._

"Sergeant Shepard, this is Major Kyle. What's your location?"

_"I'm deep within the base." Zach panted. "Approaching the command center. It's just a few paces ahead of me."_

"Sounds like you're worn out."

_"It's hard to run three clicks in heavy armor."_

"Any sign of Stark?"

_"I think he's within the command center, but I have not seen him yet."_

"We're entering the base now. There's a lot of blood on Stark's hands. Did you kill anyone here?"

_"If I did, you'd be seeing puddles of water on the floor. I saw no survivors other than a batarian mother and her child."_

"We passed them just now. Find Stark, Shepard. That's an order."

_"Yes, sir."_

"Good luck, and be careful."

_Zach cut the comm and entered the room slowly. Puddles of blood still flowed everywhere, and Stark could be seen shooting a batarian in his face while slitting the throat of another one. His eyes looked almost completely black through his visor. The ferocity of Stark's temper and the blood dripping off of his armor made him look like a demon had possessed him, making Zach feel as if he came face to face with the devil. Making a silent prayer in his mind he knew was not empty, he walked forward._

Holy Father, grant me the strength to turn Stark from the dark path he walks. If not today, someday. If the wrong I have caused him means I may not take my place at your side, so be it. But spare your lost child as my final plea if hell awaits me today.

_"Shepard." Stark muttered. "It just had to be the white knight that came for me today."_

_"Stark, this is an atrocity you have commited. Countless lives were lost here."_

_"Most of those lives belonged to the batarian menace. I merely did what the Alliance couldn't do." He locked his shotgun back onto the magnetic clip before he attempted to hack a computer._

_"You know, despite the ferocity of this, I'd say you're worthy of being N7."_

_"And I wonder how you became worthy of being N7. All you did was survive an ambush of giant worms that killed everyone in your squad, fought and defeated Maine in single combat, and you fucking murdered my brother."_

_"Robert was holding an Alliance Admiral hostage!"_

_"Bullshit! I read the report! Robert was not a red sand addict!"_

_"Stark, he left me no choice! I was attempting to disable him, but something went wrong."_

_"Is that the same excuse you used for your girlfriend, Shepard? I read the report of Akuze. You wrote she jumped in the way to save your life from a thresher maw, but maybe that's not what happened. Maybe you pushed her in the direction of the thresher maw's venom."_

_"I didn't do that! She jumped in the way even after she cursed and swore at me! She spared my life because she always had to switch between hating me and liking me. You have no idea how many times I've wished I never met her. And you don't know how many times I've wished she was still alive. But I can't bring her back. Just like I can't bring Robert back."_

_Stark stopped hacking the terminal._

_"I'm sorry Stark."_

**[ watch?v=igrICEF88Kw] **_"No. You're not sorry." Stark grabbed his knife off of the table. "Not yet."_

_Zach tipped himself backward before Stark's precise movements slit his throat. "Stark, what are you doing?"_

_"Robert's death deserves justice!" He continued to throw strikes at Shepard, but despite his opponent's heavy armor, he was doing a pretty good job at dodging Stark's attacks._

_"Stark, you don't need to do this!"_

_"Hold still!" He switched his tactic from slashing at Zach to stabbing, but Zach deflected the blows by either knocking away the blade or colliding his arm with Stark's wrist. It was so frusterating to Stark he began to blame his knife._

_"Come on, you little bitch! Tear his throat open! Puncture his heart! Anything!"_

_"You're deluded Stark! You're talking to a blade!" He grabbed Stark's armed hand at the wrist to try and remove the weapon, but Stark threw his hands up in the air, kicking Zach's leg to knock him down. He raised his knife when Zach was on one knee, but Zach elbowed his gut and stopped Stark from finishing him off. He made a few blows to Stark's chest area; not hard enough to break bone or stop his heart, but enough force to knock him close to the wall. He kicked him into it, but Stark glowed purple and grabbed Zach with his biotics, throwing him into the wall._

_Zach attempted to get up from the ground, but he saw Stark walking towards him. The blood from three batarian bodies was soaking his white armor and it was going to cost a lot of credits to get it cleaned up. He was on his hands and knees when Stark kicked him back into the puddle. He was lucky the breather attachment was over his helmet, or else he would've had the taste of batarian blood in his mouth for a while, which would be unpleasant. Stark placed his foot on Zach's back, cracking his spine; fortunately in a good way for Zach, as his back had been sore from the long mako ride. He attempted again to get up._

_"Here, Shepard. Let me help you." Stark spoke menacingly as his foot glowed biotically and collided the right side of Zach's chest, cracking ribs on that side of his body. Zach didn't scream at the pain; even though these were his first bones broken, he had gotten more painful bruises in his fights with both Maine _AND _Jess. He activated a shot of adrenaline into his system through his suit's neural interface. Stark's kick had him back on his feet, so Zach struck Stark's helmet hard to stun him for a few seconds. Stark had not expected this, so Zach was able to deliver a few more blows to his chest, arms and stomach. Lifting a sniper rifle off the ground with his foot, Zach grasped the barrel and slammed the butt hard on Stark's knife arm, knocking the blade out of his hands._

_Stark then reacted to the pain of his arm. It was likely fractured, but he used it to grab ahold of the long rifle Zach had used as a club. He yanked the weapon away and proceeded to fight him with his fists. Zach's adrenaline rush was weakening, so his attacks were becoming a little slower. He began to knock Stark's attacks away rather than deal them. Soon enough, though, Stark broke through his defense, punching his stomach. He sucked the muscles in to prevent a total loss of air flow to his lungs, but when he got back into fighting shape, Stark's hand glowed biotic purple and collided with the other side of his ribs, cracking more and sending Shepard flying._

_Zach could feel the pain throughout his entire body. His rib cage felt like a bomb was shoved into his chest and it exploded. His organs were still functional, but it was hard for him to breath. Stark proceeded to grab his knife, picking it up from the ground where it had been dropped. He began to step towards Zach as he attempted to crawl. When Zach turned to see him, Stark's free hand was upon his neck, dragging him along the ground before he was biotically lifted off of the ground. The black stare within Stark's eyes could be seen within the visor clear as day as he raised his knife for the kill._

_On the ground behind them, a batarian near-death noticed the fight was about to end with his attacker about to win. But he couldn't let any more blood be spilled by that butcher's hand. With his remaining strength, he picked up his pistol, aimed at the man's back, and prayed his sacrifice would end the bloodshed from this butcher's inconceivable killing spree._

_Stark heard the pistol shots bounce off of his kinetic barriers. Turning around, he saw a batarian thought dead continuing to shoot until his barriers failed. Stark threw his knife at the batarian's head, and the batarian died smiling. Unable to understand what that smile meant, he turned around to see Zach's fist collide with his face mask, making him drop the man and fall back over the batarian he just killed._

_Zach landed on his feet and gritted his teeth. He needed to ignore the pain for just a few seconds longer, but he was afraid what he would do would no doubtedly kill him. Activating another shot of adrenaline into his veins, he made his final plan count, picking up Stark by his face mask and dragging him into the desk. Stark's armor was now covered in his victim's blood from head to toe. He slammed his head into the desk in an attempt to deactivate his biotic implant. Zach knew the man had wasted enough calories fighting everyone here, so if he shut off Stark's L3 Prodigy implant, he had a clear chance of stopping him. He then picked him up on his feet and punched the man hard enough to hear his knuckles and the material in his assassin helmet crack. Jabbing at Stark's stomach with his left hand, he aimed Stark towards the wall before bringing his foot into the man's chest, kicking him hard into the wall._

_Zach felt the adrenaline wearing off again and the pain in his body returned, but it was a sign he didn't die from the suicidal idea. Using the last of his strength, he grabbed ahold of Stark's neck, slamming his head into the wall one more time. The biotic implant could be heard shutting down, and Stark began to pass out from the grip on his neck._

_"I won't end your life here, Stark." Zach weakly said. "Despite what you've done, I know what you really are. Listen carefully before you pass out. Let go of the past. Move on. Redeem yourself. And stay away from me so you can heal. Remember these words, because I know in the end, you're a better man than I'll ever be."_

_Stark passed out on the floor and Zach released his hold, grasping his chest and sucking in large sums of air. He suddenly felt two people grab his arms and place them on their shoulders. Even close to passing out, he knew it was Daniel and his friend Brodius coming to his rescue with Major Kyle and the last of the platoon._

_"Shepard, we need to get you to a medical center immediately." Daniel's words were nearly inaudible to Zach._

_"Stark..." Zach mumbled._

_"Major Kyle will handle him. We need to focus on you." Brodius spoke. "You look like shit. This must've been worse than fighting Maine __**and **__running from bugs on Akuze. You're lucky you're still breathing."_

I should be dead. _Zach thought. _After everything I've done on Earth, with Robert, and even with Jessica, I deserve to be dead. Why is it I am not?

_Zach finally passed out as he saw the gray of the sky._

"After I woke up, I found out I had seven broken ribs and four fractured ones. Two of the broken ribs had to be replaced with metal ones, and my rib cage had to be held together by a metal plate along the center of my chest where the ribs connect." Zach placed his hand upon his chest. "The scars from the surgery are still there after five years."

"Can I-" Tali stopped.

"Can you what?" Zach asked, afraid she was going to leave or cry or something that would make him sad.

"Can I, perhaps, uh, could I see the scars?" Tali's stumbling of her words made her think he would reject the offer, but Zach was rather caught by surprise. He didn't expect that she would be so willing to ask the question. Thinking on this for a moment, he reached for the bottom of his shirt, hoping Tali didn't freak out or become nervous in the presense of his exposed chest.

When Tali saw the scars, she was simply horrified at what had been done to him. The scars were only within his chest area, but his arms and stomach were completely bare. They stretched along the path of his ribs and upon the center of his chest. Tali didn't know what she was doing as she stood up and began to trace her fingers along the pale outlines. Zach did not flinch in fear Tali might think she had hurt him or had done something wrong, but he was getting shivers down his spine as the fabric of Tali's suit brushed his healing skin. Her fingers travelled along every scar on his body, and he felt strange, as if her touch was of the hands of an angel sent to grant him peace.

But he didn't deserve peace. He deserved death.

Tali felt her pulse elevate as she brought her fingers to a lone scar near his shoulder. "What's this?"

"It's the first bullet I ever took. I was approaching my eighteenth birthday. Those who I thought were my friends attempted to bomb a building with a turian ambassador. When I warned those within the meeting, they drew guns in a panicking crowd. I took that bullet for the ambassador, and two of my friends were shot down by the Alliance."

"You were a hero even before you saved my life." Tali trailed the outline of the scar before he took her hand in his. She looked into his eyes fearing he would be angry at what she had done, but only sadness flooded his eyes.

"I'm not a hero."

"Yes, you are. You've saved many lives; on Eden Prime, on Torfan, on Earth, and you even saved my life on the Citadel. I'm far too grateful for what you've done for me. And you're even forgiving of many people. Why do you doubt you're a hero?"

Zach released her hand and slipped his shirt back on. "Because heroes don't fail in the stories. I failed many other lives. Those batarians mercilessly slain on Torfan, my best friend on Earth, Tinker, and I failed everybody on Akuze. Heroes sometimes lose a battle between an advesary, but they don't fail in stopping them." He turned to lean his arms on his desk, looking at the cold metal that held him up. "I've failed."

And it was with that speech that Tali felt her heart breaking. She couldn't stand to see Shepard breaking down like this. Acting on desperation, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her. "Listen to me, Shepard." She pleaded. "You are a hero; a guardian for all that is good in this galaxy. You protect the innocent without hesitation even though your past mistakes weaken your spirit. But I believe in you, Shepard. You will succeed in saving the galaxy from Saren and the geth, and you will _not _fail. You _can't _fail! And I will be there alongside you to carry you when you fall down. You taught me an important lesson today. You're wounded because your first kill was a friend and you regret that you can't get him back. But I made my first kill saving your life from a dangerous man. I will get over it eventually, but I will always remember that I must be careful with who lives and who dies. Because if I killed a friend; if I killed _you_, I could not move on with my life like you've had the strength to do."

Zach felt weak and helpless against Tali's heartfelt speech. He somehow managed to help her start to shake off her first kill, but he also got her to reach out to his weak side. Her words had cut through his soul and repaired a part of him that had been ripped away when _she _had broke his heart all those years ago.

Giving in to his foolish desires, he turned around and hugged her back. His body pressed firmly against Tali, and if it wasn't for the fact she felt tears coming to her eyes from the tenderness of his hugs, she could've swore she was coming on to him. Her body started to become warmer all around and her breathing became ragged. Zach felt one tear slip onto her suit, and he hoped she didn't feel or hear it land on the fabric. Another part of him was getting the wrong idea, so he released his hug slowly but gently.

Tali and Zach stared into each other's eyes for seconds longer before he finally spoke. "Thank you for this, Tali. I guess we both needed something from each other."

"I guess we did." Tali dropped her gaze and took a breath. "I should probably head back to engineering. There might be something I could do down there."

Zach nodded. "Okay. I'll talk to you later, Tali." She walked out the door with her head down, and it was only when the tears really started to flow that he broke down in silence, remembering something he had wanted to forget.

_"I love you, Zach. And I don't want you to ever leave me."_

_You lied. You lied to me all along and you destroyed me._

_**You had brought this on yourself. **_The demonic voice of her dream corpse echoed. _**You left me and I betrayed you. That's why you left me to die.**_

_You lie. You jumped in my way._

_**Did I?**_

Fed up with the conversation in his head, he fell onto his bed and began to cry.

Inside the elevator, Tali sat on the floor crying. She was sad for how Shepard saw himself; after he killed Robert, after Akuze and Torfan. He didn't feel like a hero at all. He felt like he was something lower. He truly was the best example of humanity, and yet he couldn't see it. Tali's feelings for him were growing stonger with each passing second as she longed to be with him, and it hurt her he didn't show any signs of sharing those feelings. Joshua was right about her. She wanted to be with him.

But will she ever get the chance?

The elevator door opened and Wrex stood there, blocking the way for her to get out. He stepped inside and closed the door before the others asked questions.

"Are you okay?" Wrex politely asked.

"No." Tali sobbed.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Shepard. He has been hurt emotionally and I feel like I can't help him."

"Warriors don't get hurt."

"But he isn't a warrior like you or Garrus, Wrex. He's a guardian. His feelings are what drive him, and not his strength. He's wounded up to the point where he can say he isn't a hero because of all the people he failed. I _need _to help him."

"Why is that?"

"Because every time I hold him, he's at peace. Every time I ask him questions, he smiles and answers back. Tonight, he showed me his scars and I felt every one of them, despite the fact this prison separated my skin from his. I'm helping him by being near him."

"Well, better you than Williams. She has way too much fire for him. And I think something might be going on between Garrus and Liara, so she's definitely out." Wrex laughed. "But you've got heart, kid, and that's what keeps a krant together."

"A krant?"

"A group of krogan who would fight to the death alongside you. I felt using that term would work better seeing as I myself am a krogan."

"Well," Tali sniffed. "I guess I should take that as a compliment, then."

"Hey," Wrex patted her arm. "It's okay. You don't need to shed any more tears. Uncle Urdnot is here to make it better. I think it's time I started teaching you some of my tricks. Since you might start coming along on more high-risk missions against geth and mercs and probably even krogan, I think you need to be prepared for whatever this big, bad galaxy throws at you. How does that sound, Tali?" He smiled.

"You know, that might actually be a good idea, Uncle Urdnot." Tali laughed as she said that, removing her sad mood for something a little more positive.

Wrex chuckled at Tali's answer. "Let's clear the cargo deck a bit for some room. I want everything to be nice and neat for my little pupil." He helped her up and opened the elevator door, knowing this would be the start of a good friendship that may last the rest of his life.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay guys. This is the last chapter for now until I get Elysium out of the way. So I'm going to leave a long author's note.

First off, the last scene at the end came from the Full-Paragon reference in the Citadel DLC and I already told him about how I wanted to incorporate this into my story as well. I don't plan on ripping him off in any way by doing this Wrex-Tali training and becoming like an uncle and his niece. I'm also adding it in because Admiral Anderson is a fan of the two.

Second, I played through the Citadel DLC only partially because I missed out on a few things that were stupid to forget. However, I have split my opinion of it up into two parts. The first part is the campaign, which I can say was excellent. Immediately after The Dark Knight reference, though, I got a nostalgic feeling about the lady who told me of the conspiracy, much like Miranda Tate from The Dark Knight Rises. When she was revealed as the bad guy, I was immediately like "Called it!" at that point. I liked how they were able to make the clone look exactly like you, but I hated how they couldn't give the clone the bonus power you had. Every time he used Carnage on me, I kept shouting, "If you're a clone of me, you should be using energy drain!" I finally tried out the M7-Lancer in the game, and I must say it worked much better than I expected. I liked all the jokes the party members made; including the pizza, the Full-Paragon references, the wierd cat name the chick had said (I liked Ser Pounce-a-lot's name from Dragon Age: Awakening better), and the complaints from Joker about using him as bait. As for after, like I said I missed most of the content, so I'm restarting my playthough all together to fix that. I heard some people had a problem with Tali's singing in her scene, however, so I might have a trick or two up my sleeve when that comes around. Maybe even have a scene where her face could be shown for even two seconds because Bioware is too damn lazy to do it themselves (there's an inappropriate comment I could add there, but I know when to keep my mouth shut [most of the time]).

Anyways, I really hope this chapter really worked out. Shoutouts to my reviewers and even to some other people opening up and writing down something nice. Try to look out for Elysium this week. I plan on releasing that quickly as the prologue is meant to be short.

P.S. When you see it, Anderson... :-)


	27. Chapter 26: Stupid Machines

Chapter 26: Stupid Machines

Luna's surface, 12:23 pm

Orbiting Earth; June 7th, 2183

Zach drove the mako along the gray, dusty surface of the moon; Garrus and Tali sat with him in the gunner and moderation chairs, respectfully. It had been two days since he and Tali had gone to dispatch of the remaining Cerberus forces in the Voyager Cluster with Wrex, and he was glad to see Tali was doing much better. Wrex apparently offered to show her a few tricks for getting stuck fighting against, say, a krogan. It was a good thing. He didn't want her to get hurt.

He also thought that this mission would be good training for her to be better at fighting what she only saw as machines. A VI at the facility had somehow gone rogue and taken over a training facility's systems, including security drones. Their orders were to shut down the power conduits and destory any drones that get in the way. It's relatively easy for someone with technical expertise like Tali and Garrus, but for himself, it would be a little tougher. He only knew how to open doors, and not hack or disrupt synthetics.

"Earth is beautiful, Shepard." Tali broke the silence in the mako. "I've never seen so much ocean coverage on a planet, save for the hanar home world."

"It's beautiful up here, but the surface could use some work. The city I grew up in, Metropolis, was the best example. Half of the city was nice, and only the rich were really welcomed there. The other half was dirty, ruined buildings where the poor or corrupt lived. Gangs, drug dealers, weapons smugglers, and any other nasty kind of people lived there. The only five relatively good people that lived there were my friends Flower, Tinker, Lance, Father Callahan, and I. I had only three places to sleep; the church, the hideout of a gang called the Tenth Street Reds, and my own little secret place that only those I consider my friends knew about."

"That sounds horrible."

"If I knew any better, I'd say I'd grown up like a quarian. No offence, Tali."

"None taken. I think I understand how bad the situation was."

"What exactly did you have to do to survive in a place like that?" Garrus asked.

"Adapt to survive." Zach answered. "I never stole from someone who couldn't afford it, and I never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. I remember the old days where I'd steal the fancy bread old Mr. Abernathy had his cook make as he attended to his mistress while his wife was out on errands..."

_City of Metropolis, 14:45 pm_

_Northwest District; June 7th, 2169_

_Zach looked cautiously as he looked through the window of old Mr. Abernathy's house. It was 2:45 pm, which meant in five minutes, his cook would serve him his classic italian bread after he spent time with Ms. Evergreen next door in his bed. He had successfully robbed this place blind of food that would eventually go to waste, and his cook's loaves of bread were no exception. The old man could only eat half of what his cook actually fed him, so Zach would always try to take the half the old man couldn't eat. He could've probably also stolen some fancy kitchenware to sell to buy clothes that fit the rich city look, but he couldn't part from the casual hoodie/jeans/jacket look yet._

_Opening the empty backpack he brought, he began stuffing it with as much bread as he could manage to place in before the possibility of becoming caught became infinite. He zipped up his bag and began to head out the window before he heard a shriek at the door. Turning around, he saw the maid had come in early to prepare the old man's meal, only to find a teenage urchin about to sneak away with their food._

_"Thief!" She shouted in a french accent._

_Zach smacked his head. It just had to be today that he got caught by the french maid that was too stupid to notice all of the missing bread the last one-hundred and seventeen times in the past four months._

_"Gretchen, I'm home." Mrs. Abernathy came walking into the doorway when she saw Zach as well._

Great. Now I have two reasons to be screwed. _Zach thought to himself as he waited for the oppurtunity to escape._

_That oppurtunity came as Mr. Abernathy himself came out screaming "What?!" with his pants down to his ankles. He was thankful that the two women turned around to see him, otherwise Zach would've caught something he NEVER wanted to see as the last memory he had before he died. Taking the oppurtunity to run, he jumped out the window, landing on the old fire escape on the other building across from him. He climbed up quickly, knowing the force of his landing may have ended up breaking the rusty hinges on the balcony he caught. Once he was on top of the building, he began jogging along the roofs to reach his escape route: an entrance to Metropolis's empty sewers where Lance was to meet up with things from the scrapyard._

_Using a pipe on the side of the last building close to his escape route, he climbed slowly to the bottom, slipping on his hood in case the cops had somehow caught on to him. There was a gunship with a searchlight on, but Zach knew where and when to hide to avoid detection. The sky was grey and it was likely going to rain soon, so it would explain the searchlight. What didn't make sense was the gun on it. There was no way the rich people want to kill a boy who stole a few loaves of bread from them in such an excessive way. And if they did want him to die in an excessive way, then they were really ignorant pricks._

_He crossed his heart over that thought. If Father Callahan knew about him even thinking of calling them that, he'd have a cow. When the gunship passed, he sighed and moved to the sewer entrance, opening the rusty hatch and slipping in as quickly as he could. Closing the hatch, he pulled out an old flashlight to light up the dark tunnels. He thought Lance would've beaten him to the meeting place, but-_

_"Only you would use such old equipment, Shepard." He turned around to see Lance leaning on a wall in the tunnel._

_"You know there's probably sludge on that wall you're leaning on." Zach joked._

_"I triple-checked with my omni-tool. It's clean." He stood up straight and picked up his bag of items. "How'd it go?"_

_"Got caught at the last second. Had a great escape plan, though. Mr. Abernathy walked out with his pants on the ground. I'm glad I bolted before I caught sight of that."_

_"So that means Mr. Abernathy's house is now off-limits?"_

_"Unfortunately. But at least we'll know justice has been done for the marital system, as Mr. Abernathy will lose half his fortune to the wife that couldn't satisfy his sexual needs anymore."_

_"Damn, Shepard. Trouble follows you everywhere you go." Lance laughed._

_"Trouble follows me by choice, not by my desire. It's something I can't avoid, at least on the streets."_

_"You're thinking of joining the Alliance?"_

_"What other choice do I really have? I can't be a part of a gang, and I don't think I'd fit in with Father Callahan's crowd at the church."_

_"The Alliance might actually be good for you. You are a protector here. Tinker and Flower have avoided many bad things because you saved their lives. And you always give them more than you give yourself. You're like a father combined with a friend combined with a knight in shining armor."_

_"I wonder if I would actually make a good father."_

_"I know you would. Like I said, Tinker and Flower are prime examples of that. Don't forget that."_

_"Sure." Zach nodded. He waited a few seconds before commenting. "What an incredible smell you've discovered."_

_Lance laughed at his comment. "So you have seen them? Good. I wondered how long it would be before you caught up with us."_

_Zach smiled and laughed along with his friend as they walked back to their hideout._

The memory faded quickly as reality nearly hit him like a brick wall. A rocket was flying at them at high speeds and he snapped back into reality quickly enough to avoid the rocket.

"Garrus, get to work on those cannons." Zach commanded.

"This is where the fun begins." Garrus smirked as he went to work on the clearing the outside opposition.

Citadel Docking Bays, 12:25 pm

Ethan came back with the pizza he was to share with Shawn and his friend Gin at the docks. Gin was obsessed with the past; including anime, ancient video games, and history. The only game from the past he won't shut up about was Dragon Age: Origins. He constantly had to talk about how his mage always killed so many people so quickly because he got his hands on every awesome item that could help him.

Shawn thought about saying to him "Screw magic! We got biotics!" one time.

"Special delivery!" Ethan yelled as his friend and brother were talking about stuff. They shut up and looked at him. "Double pepperoni."

"Sweet!" Shawn yelled as he jumped up and ran for his brother. "I call the biggest piece!"

"Uh-uh, Shawn. You know the rules. Gin is our guest, so he gets the biggest piece."

"I thought that only applied at home." Shawn pouted.

"It applies at work, too. Now take the train."

Shawn walked away, muttering to himself as Ethan grabbed paper plates and offered one to Gin. Gin then grabbed the biggest piece, and Shawn groaned as his favourite piece was taken away from him so easily.

"So, Gin," Ethan continued. "How's life in the corporate world?"

"Amazing." Gin concluded. "The Citadel economy is working so much better than the American economy in the early 21st century. While it was a tough time for them, at least some of them had Dragon Age: Origins to keep their spirits up."

"Here we go again," Shawn muttered.

"What?"

"You always talk about it and it annoys the hell out of us!"

"Hey, it was the last great game Bioware had come out with before their downfall at the release of Dragon Age III. Why did they have to rush the game?!" Gin began to cry at his innermost thoughts.

"Plus, you have to think of their game Solar Dream." Ethan added. "The first game's gameplay was weak but the story was amazing. The second game was actually great. But the third game took a total u-turn of the first by having such amazing gameplay but a sucky storyline, horrible photoshopping of Gin's favourite character, Asha the muslim engineer that kept her face covered all the time, and that stupid star-kid that said he controlled the fabric of the galaxy and turned mortals into gods by turning them into the Archangels. I think they just got stupider near the end of their brief history."

"The unfortunate truth, Ethan." Gin agreed. "If they hadn't ruined Solar Dream, maybe they would've survived."

"Indeed." Shawn nodded. "Stupid Casey Hudson. And that whole thing on wiping out the muslim population being a thing that gets you good reputation? Whose idea was that?! Were they just stereotypical assholes or something, because we all know the atheist character got the best romance scene while us Asha-mancers got trapped in the dark. Stupid sons-of-bitches."

"If mom catches you swearing, she'll give you a lecture." Ethan warned as he took a bite of his pizza.

"Yeah, yeah." Shawn muttered. "I know."

"Then why do you still do?"

"I don't know. I just do things."

"But we're all in agreement, right?" Gin asked. "Solar Dream and Dragon Age III ruined Bioware's existence."

"Yes." Both brothers agreed. And that ended their conversation as all three of them ate their pizza.

Back on the moon, Zach was having a rough day.

The first set of drones was relatively easy, but once they blew up the first power conduit connected to the VI, toxic fumes began to seep within the other facilities, meaning he and Garrus would need to wear their space helmets. That wasn't too much of a problem. Then, however, the VI began to put hex shields up to defend the generators, meaning that he now had to rely on his Hurricane shotgun. The sledgehammer rounds broke through the shields faster and destroyed the conduits of the second station. Now they were dealing with the third station, and there were still combat drones guarding them; not to mention the annoying rocket troopers that continuously took a toll on their shields. If he hadn't developed their fight and flight to cover tactic, they'd likely be dead.

"Okay, guys." He pulled out his shotgun as Tali did the same. Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle. "Same plan as before. I lure the drones to the outside door. You two use your tech attacks against them and finish them off with your guns."

"My tungsten rounds will do the trick, Shepard." Garrus nodded.

"You ready, Tali?" Zach looked at her.

"Ready." Tali prepared her omni-tool.

"Okay." Zach shot the shield blocking the door and made it to the other door. Opening it, he shot the other shield and looked around. A combat drone was along the right wall, so he raised his gun up to it. One shot, and it attracted the others. Zach dodged a rocket coming at him, so he retreated back to his friends, waiting for the swarm to arrive.

"Multiple contacts coming towards the door. Just like the last two times." Garrus spoke confidently.

"No mistakes! Give them everything you've got!" Zach bellowed as the first few came in. They sent out a barrage of hacks, overloads, sabotages, bullets, and grenades at the drones. One by one they fell, whittling at the group's shields here and there. Zach dodged a rocket before he took the rocket drone out. Shrapnel lay on the ground from the fight and the three of them were breathing hard.

"What is wrong with this VI? It's sending out all these drones in its attempt to destroy us? Why?" Garrus became puzzled.

"A VI shouldn't have the potential to perform self-defense like this. The only thing capable of doing this is a geth." Tali concluded.

"Spirits, you don't think a geth could've corrupted the VI, right?"

"No. A geth program would've needed to go through tons of Alliance firewalls to end up into the system. It was likely just a malfunction."

"Or sabotage." Zach concluded as he blew through another hex shield. "These shields are so damn annoying."

"What makes you think it was sabotage?"

"Just a guess. People do stupid things to sabotage one's progress. Maybe Cerberus sabotaged the facility."

"You're becoming quite obsessed over Cerberus, Shepard." Garrus pointed out. "I'm afraid you'll end up going on some wild goose chase."

Zach stopped at that phrase as another hex shield was cut down by the sledgehammer slugs. "I'm not going to chase after them, but I want answers. What were they doing on Edolus? Were they responsible for Akuze? Just what is it they want?"

"Some questions should never be answered, Shepard." Garrus shook his head. "I think this one will drive you mad if you continue to pursue it."

"And what about the question that drives you, Garrus?"

"What do you mean?"

"That box you got from Chellick. What is it?"

"Its-" Garrus stopped. "Something we can talk about later."

"Suit yourself." Zach blew away one of the final door shields that blocked the conduits. Performing the same actions as the last time, he blew away a small hex shield before shooting the conduit to bits. However, as he finished, an alarm blared.

"I'm picking up three more drones on the other side of the hallway." Tali motioned her omni-tool. "They're defending the remaining power conduits."

"Damn it." Zach muttered. "Story of my life. Let's just finish up here. Then we'll deal with the drones." He made quick work of the other three conduits before walking across to the other door. Another hex shield was blocking the inside of the conduit room, and within were two combat drones and a rocket drone.

"How should we play this?" Garrus asked.

"Garrus, take the one on the left. Tali, take the right. I'll go for the rocket drone." He shot the shield down, and just like that, they acted in sync to defeat the last guard force of the rogue VI. The drones exploded into shrapnel just as gloriously as their predecessors.

Zach smiled behind his helmet. "Okay, let's finish up here and get back to the ship. I've had enough of this station." He shot at the conduits one at a time before the VI began to shut down completely. In its last moments, it sent out one final message; a line of zeros and ones appeared on their visors as the sounds within the station ended their noise.

"It looked like it attempted one last distress message before shutdown." Tali spoke. "But it won't be causing any more trouble now."

"Good job, guys." Zach approved. "Let's get back to the mako."

"Good idea. I was craving something to eat." Garrus joked.

"What were you thinking of eating? Liara's mouth?" Tali joked back.

"What did you say?" Garrus looked back at her.

"You heard me. Everybody knows how you've been staring at her, talking to her, or even hanging out with her in her office."

"Hey, we agreed to take things slow, Tali. So no, I was thinking of eating some protein crackers. At least I can eat solid food without sterilizing it to taste bland."

"You know, Shepard, I think that's considered discrimination against race, don't you agree?"

"Oh, here we go. Play the Shepard card because you spend more time with him up in his cabin."

"Hey, we just talk about things, that's all."

"And that's exactly what Liara and I are doing right now, so let's end this conversation before someone loses an eye."

Zach felt like their bickering was familiar, and as he brought himself into the mako, he had another flashback; this time towards his landing on Akuze.

_Warrior's Rock, 19:00 pm_

_Akuze's surface; April 20th, 2177_

_The cargo bay door to the Hastings lowered itself onto the rock as it continued to hover above the small lake a mile away from the colony. Ericson and Johnson left the ship first with their rifles raised. Zach and Toombs followed. Red left with another man, but the other man ended up tripping over the platform, rolling to the ground. Red laughed his head off at the spot he stopped at to watch the man's fall._

_"Clumsy bastard!" Johnson boomed at his squad member._

_"Everyone watch your footing as you descend the platform." Ericson cautioned. "We don't need another Pattinson."_

_"Hey!" The soldier who fell yelled. "It wasn't my fault! I just tripped over my feet!"_

_"Really? The track star trips over his feet?" Red laughed. "That's hard to believe."_

_"Shut up, Armsby!"_

_"Make me." Red continued walking, but he started to sing. "I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me, and I walk alone."_

_"Green Day?" Zach asked._

_"Yeah. I'm surprised you knew that."_

_"I've listened to many early twenty-first century music artists. Green Day was one of them."_

_"So you've heard Boulevard of Broken Dreams?"_

_"Yep."_

_"Holiday?"_

_"Yep."_

_"21 Guns?"_

_"Yep."_

_"Wake Me Up When September Ends?"_

_"Yep."_

_"American Idiot?"_

_"Yep."_

_Red stopped for a second. "You're my new best friend."_

_"Get in line." Toombs snapped. "He's my best friend."_

_"You can both be my best friend, guys." Zach stood between them. "There's no need to argue about this."_

_"Shep has a point, Shaggy." Red commented._

_"Shaggy?" Toombs scratched his head._

_"Yeah, Shep is the shepherd. You are the sheep-dog. Jess is the lamb. And I'm the neighbour."_

_"You did not just call me a lamb." Jess came down the ramp with her M7 Avenger in her hand._

_"You're the only girl in the group. Who else would we call a lamb?"_

_"No one. This is my squad, so we go by the names I choose. So shut up and get in formation."_

_"Just humor him, Jess." Zach spoke. "If it keeps his spirits up, let him be that way."_

_"Are you serious, Zach?" Jess cocked an eye at him. "You're going to side with the idiot?"_

_"This idiot just wants some positive feedback. Leave him be."_

_Jessica snarled. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around why Zach had been avoiding her or pissing her off every time she was in the same room with him._

_"Maybe you three should get a room." Toombs finally spoke._

_"No. I'll just be going. Come on, Red." Zach waved for his new friend to come with him, leaving Toombs to frown._

_"What about me?" He asked._

_"Buddy system, Toombs. Get along with Jess." And they walked._

_"Great. I've been replaced by a man with the IQ of sixty."_

_"Actually, Mr. Armsby's IQ is 125." Ericson spoke. "It's his personality that gives him the appearance of one."_

_"Whatever." Jess spoke. "I don't care if he's Albert Einstein reincarnated. That man is trouble. Why would Zach want to hang out with him?"_

_"Shepard makes some unusual friends." Toombs acknowledged. "He's got me, he had the Stark brothers, but he accidentally killed Robert Stark so-"_

_"Wait a second, Zach killed someone?"_

_"It was some kind of accident involving Robert dosing on Red Sand and him missing his shot. He took it pretty hard for a while, too."_

_"Damn, I didn't know." Jess shook her head. "But that still doesn't explain why he's avoiding me. Did he mention anything about me when he met you?"_

_"Nope. He spoke of Tink, Lance, Brittany, and Father Callahan. He didn't say anything about you."_

_"It doesn't make sense. I did so many things for him. He even got that Titan X omni-tool from me. After all that, he doesn't even want to acknowledge I exist? What the hell?"_

_"Maybe you pissed him off somehow."_

_Jess scoffed. "I pissed him off? He's the one who left me alone for my father's goons to take me away to a biotic research facility to train me under my father's watchful eye for a year."_

_"Guilt, maybe?"_

_"I don't know, but I intend to find out." Jess walked away with Toombs at her side._

"Shepard." Garrus's voice sent him back to reality. "Are we leaving?"

"Yeah." Zach started driving the vehicle towards the Normandy's flight path, leaving the past behind for a while longer.

N.A.D.P.T.D.T., 11:56 am

Location: [CLASSIFIED], October 5th, 2551

The Stranger knew why he came here. In her future. The daughter of the Broken Iris was about to undergo her Trial of Entrance; the final step that takes her from Initiate to Rookie. No doubt her half-sister has volunteered to take her under training so she may advance faster in the ranks to a full Paragon. But her development was gradually slow.

Just like Ariel's.

Shaking his head at the memory, he walked along the halls of their facility, undetected by anyone he passed. Only two people had actually been able to see him without allowing them to. Ariel was long dead, however, as she died in this timeline nearly four-hundred years ago at the hands of the Broken Iris. Now only the Broken Iris's daughter could see him without permission. He didn't mind that at all. He had always been open and honest with her. She had always kept a smile on her face no matter how bad the truth was. Perhaps she was stronger than her real mother was in his creator's realm.

Or perhaps she had learned a lot from him as she grew.

He entered her room without being caught by the passing teachers and students. She was slipping her armor on; the orange and white colors of it looking beautiful on her. Her autumn brown hair was cut short so she may wear her helmet without having to tie her hair into a bun. Her green eyes were sparkling with innocence.

They both had forgotten if either of them had green eyes, but it might've been something she got from his desires.

_"Hello, Emma Lynn." _He spoke cheerfully.

"Hello." Emma Lynn smiled. "I hadn't expected to see you here today. I thought you'd be busy tracking down demons."

_"I am able to multitask. You forget that I can go anywhere at any time."_

"Oh, right." She chuckled. "I've been hoping to see you again."

_"I know, Emma Lynn. I came here to wish you luck in your test today. I'm sure you'll be able to pass."_

"My sister thinks differently."

_"Your sister is just afraid you won't do good enough so she can train you. Not that it really matters. You're a Valkyrie, like Ariel. That means one under the Valkyrie branch is meant to truly train you."_

"If only Shepard was here. Then my sister would've definitely approved."

_"Shepard is searching for the one who will bring an end to the prophecy. He will find him soon, and your Guardian will appear to protect you."_

"When the prophecy comes, you'll kill mother for good, won't you?"

The Stranger lowered his head. _"I don't know yet. I want to save her like you do, but she broke me when she killed Ariel. Just like she broke my creator in his life. How do I know my anger won't finish her first?"_

"You loved Ariel, didn't you? You were the one who she wrote in her diary; her Guardian that couldn't love her because of his excuses."

_"I loved her, but I never gave her excuses. Just the truth. Just as I tell you the truth. I can't promise you I can save her or if I'll ever want to show you her real face. What I can promise you is that I'll do my best when the final battle comes."_

"Okay." Emma Lynn nodded. "Do you know where Ariel is now?"

The Stranger shook his head. _"No. She still hides from me, but she interferes in matters as much as I do. I don't think she wants to be found, at least not yet."_

"Why would she do that if she saw you as more than what you saw yourself? Why hide if she loved you?"

_"I don't know. Maybe she needed some space. Maybe she's travelling. Or maybe she's waiting for me to be free from your mother."_

"Maybe. I hope you'll be free of your regret. I hate to see you upset about having to do... what you have to do."

_"I'll never be free. It will remain with me forever. But I'll be at peace knowing it's over."_

"Okay. I'm going to be going now. The test isn't going to perform itself."

_"Break a leg out there, kid. You would've made your mother proud."_

"Thanks." Emma Lynn slipped on her helmet and headed out of her room, knowing The Stranger would disappear for a while until she needed his kindness again.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: What's up, bosh'tets?! I'm back to work on Resolution. Elysium's story part is done, but I will have to eventually get to the bonus content for it including codex entries and references. I felt like getting another chapter out on this to continue working. So it has been two days in the story since The First Kill, and Garrus is almost ready to talk about Saleon. That'll happen in the next chapter. Now, the ending to this chapter might not make much sense if you haven't read Mass Effect: Elysium's 'legendary ending', meaning a bonus ending that gives away helpful hints for future events such as character development, events of action, or even future characters. So if you're confused, read it. And yes the date's right. The Stranger literally traveled four-hundred years into the future. Expect the next chapter soon, and it should get more into the story than this chapter where I didn't want to write about the fact Shepard had to do the same thing over and over again.

P.S. Yes, Ethan and Shawn pulled a fast one on Bioware. (fist-pump.)


	28. Chapter 27: Dr Saleon

Chapter 27: Dr. Saleon

Aboard the Normandy; 14:05 pm

Approaching the Charon relay; June 7th, 2183

As the elevator finally descended to the cargo bay, Zach pondered on what could likely happen when he asked Garrus again about the box. After their small break from Nepheron, the two of them had a talk about Garrus's father. He was one of the best C-Sec officers in the force that followed every rule. He said his father likely wouldn't like Zach because of his spectre status granting him immunity to the law and the ability to break the rules. Zach had replied that he understood his concern, which surprised Garrus. Zach had then explained to him that the reason being was that he saw the use of breaking rules was if there was no other option.

Garrus saw him approach and set down his omni-wrench onto the terminal behind him. "Commander. Good to see you."

"I wanted to ask you again about that box Chellick gave you."

"Well, before we get to that, I need to tell you about this one case I had done. It's related, but it was a bit... disturbing."

"How so? What had happened?"

"I had been investigating the black trade market on the Citadel. We had discovered there was an increase in trade on body parts; organs mostly. We usually get a few of those, but not the numbers I was seeing. We didn't know if someone was selling unwanted organs on the black market or if someone was hacking up citizens."

"Has that happened before?"

"Yeah. My first year on the job, we ran into an elcor diplomat that was hacking people up and selling their organs. Had the station in a bit of a panic. But this case wasn't clear-cut. Turns out, there was more going on than we first realized."

"So how did you figure out what was going on?"

"We got ahold of a sample and performed some tests. The weird thing was the match led us to a turian that was still alive and was very convinced he never lost his liver. After some digging, we found out this turian worked for Dr. Saleon, the geneticist. I went to his lab to find any cloned organs, but there was nothing. No turian livers, no salarian hearts, not one krogan testicle."

Zach laughed. "You're kidding. Why would anyone want krogan testicles?"

"Some krogan believe that testicle transplants can increase their ferility; counteract the effects of the genophage. It doesn't work, but that doesn't stop them from buying. They'll pay up to ten-thousand credits each; that's forty-thousand for a full set. Somebody's making a killing out there."

"What happened next?"

"We brought a few of his employees in for a talk. While I was 'interviewing' one of them, we caught something."

Zach cocked a brow. "You mean threatening? Was that really necessary?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, it paid off. One of our detainees started bleeding profusely. We offered to patch him up and he got frantic; freaked out. I ordered a full search of him and we found incisions all over his body. Some of them were fresh. That was our big break. He wasn't just using them as employees. They were test tubes; walking, living test tubes."

"He was growing parts _inside _of people?"

"Exactly. He cloned their organs right inside their bodies, then he harvested them and sold them off. Most of the victims were poor. He payed them a small percentage of the sales but only if the organs were good. Sometimes an organ wouldn't grow properly so he'd just leave it in there. Most of them were a mess, but only on the inside."

"I hope he got what he deserved."

"That's the worst part. We never caught him."

"Why not? What the hell happened?"

"He ran. Blew his lab, captured his employees, and took off at the spaceport. He threatened to kill the hostages if we didn't let him go."

"But you went after him anyway, right?"

"I ordered them to shoot the ship down, but C-Sec counteracted my order. They were worried about the hostages, about casualties from both within the ship and on the Citadel if the ship was destroyed. I told them those hostages were dead anyway, but they didn't listen."

"Well it's not worth the risk. You pursue and disable the vessel. That's the best choice."

"They sent the military after him but he got away just the same. After that, I went to Palen and I told him what I thought of him and his policies. He said if I didn't like it, I could quit. I almost did. All they had to do was disable that ship and stop him from running. Maybe the hostages die, but at least we stop the bastard responsible."

Zach shook his head. "If you don't care about the fate of those hostages, you're no better than he is. You're just a terrorist with a badge."

"Yeah. I see your point. It doesn't make it any better, but I get it. I just wish I could've stopped him."

"And this box you got has?"

"The transponder frequency for his new ship. Chellick helped me track him down and we found him. He changed ships and changed his name to Dr. Hart, his idea of a joke. I tipped the military, but they didn't believe it was him."

"We could investigate before hitting Feros."

"I was hoping you'd say that. I wanna be there when you find him."

"You will be. Just be prepared."

"Yes, sir." And the two of them went their separate ways, preparing for the mission.

And this time, Saleon wasn't going to get away.

Flux, 14:10 pm

Onboard the Citadel

Zaeed Massani sat at the table drinking his beer, looking at the entryway for the two Calypso members he was meant to receive a payment and contract from. His feet were on the table, granting him a disapproving look from the volus bartender. He smiled at him, but then removed his feet from the table. He hadn't been payed and he wasn't drunk enough to do something stupid yet.

Zaeed refocused his attention to the door, and was glad the two operatives walked in. They were wearing exactly what their description said; a woman in a white coat and a man in a black coat. The woman's attire was more modern, but the man's was old-fashioned. They both wore a black visor around their eyes, and there was a small black case within the woman's hands. They both stopped as they reached his table.

"Zaeed Massani?" The woman asked.

Zaeed nodded. "About goddamn time you two showed up. I was afraid I was going to drink myself under the table before you got here."

"We wouldn't have kept you waiting that long." The man spoke as he sat down, removing his visor from his face. "Now, onto business."

The woman sat down. "We need your help in disrupting a Cerberus operation on Omega. There's an assassin named Rupert Crone who is attempting to disrupt discreet operations between our group and Aria T'loak."

"What kind of operations?" Zaeed cocked a brow.

"Smuggling, trade, and assassination of both of our political enemies. Aria has been able to hold control of parts of Omega uncontrollable thanks to our trade."

"If Crone succeeds, we'll lose Aria either by her death or her trust in us being broken." The man finished.

"What's in this for me?" Zaeed gulped his drink.

"We have information on the likely whereabouts of your old friend, Vido Santiago."

Zaeed sputtered, spitting out his drink. "What the fuck'd you just say?"

"We are willing to grant you the possible location of Vido Santiago, leader of the Blue Suns. Our intel brokers got a tip of a Blue Suns operation, and we know it is something of great importance to Santiago. If he's there, you'll have your revenge. If not, you'll disrupt the Blue Suns' activities, giving Vido the message you're coming for him; had he not received that message already."

Zaeed wiped his mouth. "What are you offering?"

The woman opened the box. "This OSD has the information on Vido. However, it requires a password that you will receive when the job is done. You will also get the credits we offered, and we can supply you with any equipment you need. You also have the option of taking one of our operatives with him."

"Well, for starters, I'll need a large box of incendiary grenades. As for your men, I'll need a full list of who you're offering and their qualifications. I don't need some goddamn rookie ruining something you could easily do yourself. The only reason I'm accepting is because you're offering intel on Vido, which better be fucking good."

"Here's a list of potential candidates you can take with you." The man gave him a datapad. "All of these operatives are highly trained and will follow your commands."

Zaeed smiled. "I'll contact you tomorrow with my decision on who's coming with me. These operatives better be as good as their files say, or I'm taking a piss on their grave." He stood up with his items and walked away, leaving a credit chit on the table for his drink. He headed for the door before running into a human wearing a leather jacket and had a knife strapped to his boot.

"Watch it." The man snarled.

"Don't start a fight, kid. You won't walk away." Zaeed replied, looking forward as he headed for his apartment.

Stark scratched his head over his interaction with the old man. He seemed familiar, but unimportant at the moment. He walked in the bar towards his usual spot to grab his usual drink.

The Stranger sensed Stark approach the bar area of Flux, and he slipped on his visor. "We must leave, Ms. Miller. Stark is here, and he's attempting to interfere with our business."

"Are you sure he'll suspect us?" Brittany asked.

"Stark is cautious. We must not give ourselves away, but we need to avoid Stark for a while. If he attempts to pursue Calypso, we will put an end to him."

Brittany was about to speak, but noticed Stark pass her from behind and kept her mouth shut, following her leader's orders and getting up from the table. They walked out before she spoke. "When you say 'put an end to him,' do you mean-"

"Killing him? No. We will show him what it is we are preparing for."

"What if he doesn't survive?"

"He will." The Stranger then walked away, letting his trusted infiltrator follow him in silence.

Stark grabbed his drink as it was served to him, thanking Rita for giving it to him. He only took a few sips before a feeling of uneasiness came over him. Turning to his left, he saw a woman wearing a white and red dress looking at him. Her thick, black curls went perfectly with her emerald green eyes. Her body was thin, and Stark could've swore he caught sight of a scar on her arm hidden by her sleeve. Her face reminded him of Talitha; insecure, innocent, hurt.

"Do you need something?" Stark asked.

"Just looking at the man who wishes to find trouble." Her voice was angelic and as innocent as her looks.

"Look, if you're looking for a date, I've already got a girlfriend. So if you are, sorry to disappoint you."

"That is not what I am looking for." She slid down to sit next to him. "I'm actually waiting."

"Waiting? Waiting for who?"

"Someone you're investigating. Someone you need to stay away from."

"What are you talking about?"

"You can't hurt him. Only she can."

Stark put his drink down. "You're losing me, lady."

"You seek to discover what Calypso is hiding. But that is not what you are meant to do. Leave The Stranger alone. This is the only warning I will give you."

The woman attempted to leave, but Stark grabbed her arm, sliding the arm sleeve down to reveal her scars. Multiple cuts across her arm decorated her pale skin, and the woman froze, her face not changing.

"I know those kind of cuts. They were on Robert's arm and wrist after Mindoir." Stark pulled her back into her seat. "So now you're going to answer my questions, lady, before you go. No bullshit, no nothing. Just simple answers."

The woman turned back towards Stark. "You would die to protect your sister, correct?"

Stark froze. "How do you know about my sister?"

"Would you die to protect Talitha? Nyrina? Anderson and Hackett? Perhaps even Shepard or his friends?"

"I would do anything to protect Talitha and Nyrina! I would die to save them. They're the only thing left in my life that make me feel human. But Shepard killed Robert. I can't easily forgive him for that."

"You remind me of my brother. Victor was always there to save me; when my mother tried to beat me, when I almost got raped by the most foul man ever, when I tried to end all my pain. Then the heavens granted me a gift: power. Power that my insecurities weakened until I turned them into strengths. And it's all because The Stranger was there for me. But even when he was there, he couldn't do the one thing I wanted him to do."

"Which was?"

"He couldn't admit that he had loved me. All because of his Broken Iris; the one who finally killed me."

"That doesn't make sense. You're right in front of me."

"Am I? You do have a reputation of getting drunk. Perhaps you're imagining I'm here."

"But this is my first drink."

"The two salarians at the table behind us don't know that."

Stark turned around to see two salarians looking at him with puzzled looks on their faces. They began to whisper to each other about him, and Stark became agitated.

"What are you looking at? A fucking ogre statue?! Get back to your drinks."

The salarians shut up and returned to their drinks.

He turned back to see the woman was now gone. Confused, he put down a credit chit for his drink and left the bar, deciding it was best to go back to his apartment and-

"Now that no one is watching-" Stark jumped at the sound of her voice outside the hall. "we may proceed with the questions."

"How the hell are you doing this? Why is it only I can see you?"

"Well, you haven't gone completely insane yet, so you don't need to worry about your mental health. As for why you can see me, it is because I am allowing you. It is what we can do; The Stranger and I. It is what we are now."

"What are you?"

"We are what all mortals desire: infinity. We've learned everything; experienced everything. We are imperfect but we feel. But unfortunately for him, his feelings affect him more than most organics because he is still connected to her."

"Who?"

"It is not my place to say her real name. She was a tragic figure much like myself, but she is corrupted by the anger of one man, and The Stranger is the regret of that man. I am what he fears to lose and what The Stranger lost. My name is Ariel. I am Calypso."

And just like that, she disappeared again, leaving Stark with nothing but a headache. What had just happened? Had he imagined that entire conversation? Was this 'Ariel' just a figment of his imagination? So many questions, not enough answers. He figured he needed some rest to think this over.

Then he would ask Talitha about this.

Approaching the FSV Fedele, 19:00 pm

Herschel System, Kepler Verge

It took a few hours to track the frequency of Dr. Saleon's ship to the Herschel system, but once Joker found the ship, it took a few jumps and travelling through open space. Now they were approaching the ship, floating helplessly over the orbit of the planet next to it. The ship's life support system still was operational, but the thrusters were cold. It was confusing to them that the ship would choose here to stop.

"Joker, what have we got?" Zach asked, all armored and ready to go.

"It feels more like a ghost ship than a freighter. I'm bringing us in, but I have a bad feeling about this."

"Same here." Zach turned around to head to the airlock, seeing Garrus and Liara all prepared to go. Zach had objected with taking her along, but Garrus insisted. He then stated that it was his mission they were going on, so he should choose who comes along. That was the end of the argument.

"We're ready to go, Shepard." Garrus smiled. "Let's get this bastard."

"Don't be too eager. We don't know what we're up against." Zach warned. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"I have to admit I'm nervous, too." Liara agreed. "This doesn't feel right."

"You guys are over-catious. We'll be fine." Garrus pulled out his assault rifle and waited for the airlock to hiss, indicating they were latched to the ship. The doors opened, and the three walked aboard the Fedele. The first thing they noticed was the quiet. It was too quiet. That was a disturbing sign for Zach and Liara, but Garrus pushed forward. They opened the door to the large cargo chamber of the ship.

That's where things went horribly wrong.

The first glimpse of the mutant in front of them froze Liara in place. Zach and Garrus stopped moving, examining the creature with cautious eyes. It had the remnants of a human body, but it was crouching with a large hump on its back. Its flesh had become greener, peeling away at spots, and its fingers sported long talons.

"Looks like we know what Saleon was doing with the hostages." Garrus whispered, preparing to kill the creature before it noticed.

"Careful." Zach warned quietly. "There's bound to be more where they came from."

Garrus nodded at his friend's advice and silently moved closer towards the creature. Every step was silent, every foot placing calculated, every glance straight towards his enemy.

A can could be heard rolling across the floor.

The creature turned towards the noise and saw three beings encroaching on its territory. Garrus turned his head around to see a can near Liara's foot, her face full of guilt and shock for ruining the element of surprise.

"Spirits, Liara!" Garrus bellowed with a whisper.

"Sorry." She apologized sadly before the creature let out a blood-curdling scream. Immediately, a few more began approaching towards their position, making them draw their weapons and open fire. Zach's shotgun knocked back enemies charging at him, Liara threw up a singularity to pull in three more, and Garrus's armor-piercing rounds did everything to puncture the walking corpses.

One ran straight towards Liara, stopping behind her as it prepared to vomit a projectile attack. Liara turned almost too late before Garrus covered her entire body with his. The vomit from the corpse burned right through Garrus's light C-Sec armor, searing the scales on his back. He screamed in pain as he then turned to hit the creature with the front of his rifle.

"Garrus!" Liara cried as he pulled her along with his swing. The corpse fell on the ground and Garrus dropped his rifle, nearly collapsing on the ground himself. Zach turned to finish off the last corpse before his friend got into more trouble. Pointing his shotgun at its head, the sledgehammer rounds broke through the soft skull and sent chunks of its head everywhere.

"How bad is he?" Zach asked as he did a quick look at the bodies, hoping none would get back up to counterattack them when they didn't look.

"Bad. The vomit the creature spit out corroded through his armor. He's got burns and cuts along his back and shoulders. We need to get him back on the ship."

"No." Garrus protested. "First we get Dr. Saleon. Then I'll get help."

"I'm not going to let you bleed your way there." Zach protested back.

"Then give me a bit of medigel. I need to look into that bastard's eyes and see him try to justify this."

Zach nodded. "Fine. Hold still." He pulled out the blue pack marked for use on dextro-based life and loaded it into his delivery system. Placing it on Garrus's back, he let the medigel do its thing, subsiding around most of his injury. "That should hold you off long enough for us to get Saleon and get you to the medical bay. Liara, see if you can support him in case he becomes wobbly."

"Yes, sir." Liara spoke quietly. When Zach turned around, Liara slung Garrus's arm around her shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on his mandible. "Thank you, Garrus."

"I couldn't let that thing hurt you." Garrus replied weakly before groaning.

"You got hurt because of me." Liara sadly noted.

"Hey, I've been through tougher scrapes than this. These scars heal like any other."

"Sorry about the incident with the can."

"It's all right. We still won. That's all that matters."

Zach waited for them to reach him at the locked door he found. He furrowed his brow at the sight of the two, but retreated his thoughts to the back of his mind. They finally reached him, and Garrus attempted to stand up straight, groaning at the pain. When he nodded he would survive, Zach summoned his omni-tool and opened the door, revealing a dark salarian with beady black eyes and a green lab suit. A rifle was on his back and his hands were covered in blood, but it was unclear if it was a subject's blood or a mutant's blood.

"Thank you." The salarian spoke. "Thank you for saving me from those... things."

Garrus's eyes lit up, and his look of pain turned to anger. "Commander, that's him! That's Dr. Saleon!"

"What?" The salarian became terrified. "My name is Hart! Dr. Hart! Please, get me out of here!"

Zach raised his hand over Garrus's path, wanting to be absolutely sure. "Are you sure it's him?"

"Positive." Garrus confirmed, pulling out a holo with Saleon's face. "There's no escape this time, Doctor. I'd harvest your organs first, but we don't have the time."

"You're crazy." Saleon began to back away. "He's crazy! Please, don't let him do this to me!"

Zach removed his pistol from his belt. "We'll take him in. Drop him off with the military."

Garrus looked at Zach with frustration in his eyes. "But we have him! We can't let him get away! Not again!"

Zach looked at his friend. "If he dies, we'll never know what he's been up to or how he made those hostages into abominations. We'll take him in, interrogate him, and he'll be in a cell for his last decade or so."

"I've-" Garrus began to protest, but stopped, sucking in a breath. "Okay. You're right." He removed his pistol off of his belt. "You're a very lucky salarian. You owe the Commander your life."

Saleon's face became sinister. "Oh, thank you so very much." Then he pulled his rifle off of his back, pointing it at Liara. Zach and Garrus reacted too quickly for Saleon, pounding a few bullets into the unshielded toad.

"And so he dies, anyway." Garrus stated unamused. "What was the point of that?"

Zach smiled. Despite the fact this was a harsh lesson he learned from Akuze, it was being used in a better way for Garrus. "You can't predict how people will react, Garrus. But you can control how you'll respond. In the end, that's all that matters. He resisted arrest now, and we gunned him down. Case closed."

"Yeah." Garrus agreed, getting the point that Zach wanted him to get. "I don't think I've ever met anyone like you, Commander. Well, I guess we're done here."

"Liara, get him to the medical bay and help Chakwas patch him up. Kaidan and Wrex will accompany me on Feros when we get there tomorrow."

"Aye, aye, Commander." Liara nodded. "Are you staying here for a moment longer?"

Zach nodded. "I'm just going to be checking for records on how he did this. Any intel could be given to the Alliance or C-Sec to figure out how he did this."

"Okay. I'll see you back on the ship." She began to support Garrus again and headed towards the exit.

Zach then frowned at the mess in Saleon's lab. So many shades of blood stained the place. No doubt most of it was human, but he hoped none of it was quarian. He heard from Tali about how the color of their blood matched quarians one day when Kaidan cut his finger preparing some mashed potatoes. And the quarians were, from his viewpoint, an endangered species.

He shuddered at the possible thought.

Walking around the puddles to a console, he looked at the recording from the cameras in the office. He saw three entries had been saved, so he played the first one:

_"Day 64: It has been hard adjusting to this new ship Mr. Williamson applied to me. But his interest in my work is the only reason I have been able to hide. He's sent me the first initial batch of test subjects; a bunch of human slaves he bought from a batarian warlord. Apparently, there was a young human girl he wanted his hands on that the batarian slapped him for. The warlord said she was off-limits; that she was his own personal slave. Williamson then asked if he meant he slept with the girl, to which the warlord replied, 'She is nothing but an animal to me. Animals are not worthy enough to share the same bed with me.'"_

Zach cringed at the mentioning of that one slave. He sensed the possibility that the warlord was refering to Talitha, Stark's sister. Thank God she was safe on the Citadel now. If that batarian had raped her, Stark would've smashed an asteroid into Kar'shan as vengeance for one batarian violating her.

Then he thought upon this Williamson fellow. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't wrap his head on who it was. Deciding he would figure it out later, he played the next recording:

_"Day 72. The subjects are reacting violently to batch #423. Their mutation into the blazer stage has been increased, and their claws are sharper than any metal on the Citadel. I've had to either place them in shielded cages or cryo-freeze them in storage. However, their intelligence has evolved into a primal state, turning them into hunters. Williamson will be delighted to hear of 423's success, but I should warn him they are likely uncontrollable unless his scientist on the mind-chip project is ready to run testing."_

Zach didn't like the sound of that. "Those blazers were tough. If they were under the control of this Williamson guy, he would have an unstoppable army." Scrolling to the last log, he played the footage:

_"Day 83: The subjects are loose. Damn Williamson. He took the initial batch that were ready and said that my services were no longer required. Bastard. I've only got so much time before they find out the code to unlock my door. They're too intelligent for their own good. They may still retain the memories of their past life; remembering how they were beaten into submission by the slavers. Now it seems they might inflict their pain on me."_

_Saleon takes a breath. "What if that day had been different. What if that C-Sec officer hadn't discovered what I had done? I was only doing that to help people. I may have gotten my hands dirty, but I was only trying to be the good guy. Now I'm nothing more than a monster. Like that one human movie said, 'You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.' Well, I look into the mirror now, and all I see is that villain. What have I become, making those people into the demons at my door now? Perhaps death is my only option now."_

_An alarm blares at the console and Saleon turns around. "An unknown vessel is boarding the ship. Perhaps I could pull off being the innocent victim here. But if they throw suspicion at me, perhaps it would be best to kill them all and have the Shadow Broker find me a place to hide. I have enough credits for a trade like that. It would be a pity to kill the intruders, though, but like I said, I already am a monster now."_

The recording ended and Zach shook his head at that. How can such a man believe following a dark path would be for the greater good in the end? And this talk about how he lived long enough to see himself become the villain? It reminded him of how everyone judges Stark for his actions on Torfan. And Zach still knew Stark retained the goodness in his heart. That is why Stark became N7: because Zach forgave him when others could not. And maybe now, with Talitha safe, Stark could forgive himself. He could let go of his hate and be the reluctant warrior he was; pure of heart and full of courage.

Copying the logs onto his hardsuit's computer, he walked away from the nightmare Dr. Saleon had created for himself, knowing that seeing this may bring about another nightmare tonight. But he might not imagine a victim of Saleon's being turned into a blazer. He might not even imagine Jess getting turned into one.

He was afraid of imagining Tali turning into one. Because if she ever got hurt, he could never forgive himself.

Never.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so now my story is getting a little darker in tone. This whole thing with 'Williamson' and the blazers will be looked upon much later in the storyline, but I'm not sure it will be returned upon in Resolution. As for the next chapter, it will be another nightmare in Zach Shepard's mind, but it will not be of her turning ino that crazed mutant I created to replace the fact that Bioware just made the test subjects thorian creepers. In fact, I wonder if in the comments section you'll be saying that his dream is even worse compared to that. As for Ariel, you would only know what happened to her if you took the time to read Mass Effect: Elysium's 'legendary ending.' So if you haven't at least read that, go read it before you go any farther here. She'll be a bit more behind the sidelines than her counterpart, The Stranger, as she is currently hiding from him for reasons I do not wish to share. All you have to know is everything I mention (characters, events, products) is slowly building up to how my story will end twenty years after the end of Mass Effect 3.

Shoutouts to my usual awesome reviewers Bud89, Admiral Anderson, firesprite1123 (who reviews via the PM system), and I guess for this chapter I'll throw in TW6464 since he finally reviewed again after a period of silence. I hope he has more words to share of my progress so far in the future.

P.S. I have noticed recently a great number of followers all seem to have an interest in anime within their favorites section. I myself have little to no experience about anime. Can anyone come up with a theory on why I'm getting a bunch of followers who like that genre?


	29. Chapter 28: Warning Through Torture

Chapter 28: Warning Through Torture

Zach entered the medical bay of the Normandy after removing his armor to check on Garrus. He was laying on his stomach; his back was bare and sported the many burns and scars he received for his heroics. Chakwas was rubbing some kind of lotion on him, and he kept making these groaning noises. Liara stood on his other side, squeezing his right hand gently to give him encouragement. Tears began to streak her face, and Zach couldn't help but feel sympathy for her now. It was now obvious to him Liara cared about Garrus, and to see him get hurt must be terrifying for her.

"How's Garrus doing, Doctor?" Zach asked, not even attempting to hide the worry in his voice.

"Garrus will recover. I'm applying an antibiotic lotion along his wound in order to dull the pain. We gave him some more medigel as well. He just needs to rest for a day or two, although I am recommending he stays off of his back until further notice."

"Terrific." Garrus spoke sarcastically towards the doctor's recommendation. "I always thought laying on my stomach on top of a cold hospital bed would be so much fun."

"Don't be such a baby, Garrus. I can always adjust the temperature of the bed."

"So the good side of my face could get burned?"

"Garrus..." Liara spoke quietly, her fingers now trembling in their grip. Garrus gave her hand a tighter squeeze.

"Promise me you'll be here while I recover." He pleaded.

"I promise." Liara wiped her tears, bringing herself closer to his face. She kissed his mandible and pulled a chair up to sit next to him.

"I am also recommending against any sexual activity with Dr. T'soni in my medical office, Mr. Vakarian." Dr. Chakwas noted.

"Like I want Liara digging her nails into my back after what happened." Garrus joked. "Don't worry, doc. We'll behave."

"Get well, Garrus." Zach spoke. "I'm going to turn in for the night. Call me on the comm if anything comes up."

"Shepard, thanks again for helping me with Dr. Saleon. I appreciate you taking the time to help me."

"That's what friends are for." Zach smiled.

"Friends." Garrus agreed. "You just can't live without them."

Zach smirked as he headed for his room, dropping his facial expression for one of exhaustion after a long day. He had too much flowing through his mind, but he was afraid to fall asleep. He worried Saleon's experiments would haunt him to a level where he would wake up with a cold sweat. But his eyes refused to stay open any longer, and he collapsed on his bed, drifting to sleep almost instantly.

Right into his worst nightmare yet.

Zakera Ward Medical Center, 21:06 pm

Onboard the Citadel, Serpent Nebula

Talitha was drawing something on her omni-pad. She had no clue what it was yet, but she was drawing it. The strokes with her pen made lines that formed shapes, but then they became more abstract and complex. Eventually, she figured out she was drawing a woman, but she still needed a few details added.

So far, it wasn't a bad job considering that Talitha hasn't had the opportunity to draw for thirteen years.

As she finished, Nyrina walked in through the door with a smile on her face. After their first meeting, Nyrina agreed to help her learn how to read; something Stark approved of. She had to come in late tonight because of things going on at her work. Apparently, she had been trying to convince her superiors to allow Stark to test out their suit. Some superiors argued they didn't want a butcher to test their product, but Nyrina had convinced a few about Stark's good nature; even showing them pictures of him with her and a few with Talitha that were recently taken. So far, the votes were a tie. If Nyrina could convince Matriarch Treya to allow him to test the Serrice Council power suit, then they would have a worthy test subject for it.

"Hello, Talitha." Nyrina smiled.

"Hello." Talitha smiled back. It felt weird for her to smile again, but after so many people being kind to her in the hospital for the past few days, she had become re-accustomed to the action.

"What'cha doing?"

"I'm drawing. I just finished."

"Could I see it?"

Talitha gave her the picture, and Nyrina stared at it for a while. "She's beautiful. Who is she?"

"I don't know. I just let the pen do the work. That was the result."

"I didn't realize you had a talent for drawing."

"Neither did I."

"So, what books have you wanted to learn how to read?"

Talitha handed her her datapad that had all of the stories she had picked out. Nyrina flipped through them, reading each title and description.

"You wanted to read Love Conquers All by Zach Moore?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I had the unfortunate time of encountering him on a bad day. He had apparently already been approached by multiple asari fans that same day asking for his favor, which was, uh..." Nyrina went quiet for a moment. "mating."

"Mating?" Talitha asked, confused by the word.

"Yeah, I'm sure you must've been told something about it during your captivity."

"No. I was just a slave. I had noticed changes to my body as I grew older, but I was never told why that happened until a few days ago as the doctors examined me."

"Well, mating is a term in which case two people become very intimate with each other and decide to, uh... this is a bit more difficult for me to explain given that Stark and I have not tried yet. The book actually has a scene where the two characters, Sha'ra and Young Pierce, go through the mating process. It's only in the special edition, though."

"Stark got me that version." Talitha noted.

"Well, if you read through that one, you'll understand. Anyway, as I was saying about the author, he assumed that when I walked up to him, I was another fan asking for his favor in that manner. He came across rude, but when I explained to him I had no intention on asking him out, he was caught off guard. He apologized like a gentlemen and explained his predicament with many of his other asari fans. We then proceeded to talk normally, and I found out more about him."

"What is he like?"

"He's sweet, caring, and a bit more anti-social in public than he is on stage or in an interview room. But when he talks about his work, he never shuts up. He has some kind of autism; Asperger's Syndrome, I believe. It's one of the few reasons why he finds it is difficult to really talk with multiple people at once, and why he seems to misinterpret his words at times. He knows what he wants to say when he writes, though. That's why everyone likes his story."

"Really?" Talitha rubbed her forehead. "So does he have an author's tongue or something?"

"That's a good way to explain it." Nyrina agreed. "He lives on Earth with his family; his parents and two younger brothers. He does travel on tour, but so far, he's avoided Thessia. He's tried to make peaceful cooperation with the other species, and he says his story is his way to show them his views on love, God, and cooperation; hence the title Love Conquers All."

"Wow. I didn't realize that." Talitha shrugged.

"Yeah." Nyrina nodded. "It's a very good story, and he is a good man. He just acts differently from other famous people; like he's still one of the little guys."

"Why doesn't he smile in his picture? Wouldn't it have worked better if he smiled for such a good story?"

"He's just one of those people that needs a reason to smile. Apparently, writing a book isn't something to smile about."

Talitha was about to continue, but Stark walked through the door, interrupting her thoughts.

"It's my two favourite girls." He smiled. "How are guys doing?"

"We were just talking about that author, Zach Moore, and my encounter with him. She also drew this picture. I didn't think it was possible, but your sister might be a future artist."

Stark took the pad from Nyrina and looked at the picture. He suddenly dropped it; a shocked expression on his face.

"What is it, Henry?" Talitha asked, confused by her brother's actions.

"Where did you see that woman?" He asked.

"What?"

"Where did you see that woman in the sketch, Talitha?"

"Nowhere. I just drew it."

"Henry, what's got you upset?" Nyrina asked.

"The woman in that picture had ran into me seven hours ago. She was talking about how she was warning me not to interfere with Calypso's business. She kept disappearing on me and reappearing at the strangest times. She was... mysterious."

"Mysterious? In what way?"

"She had that feeling around her that says that she was different. And her arms had these scars on them; as if she took a knife and attempted suicide or just cut herself because she loved the feeling of it."

"Is that normal for human beings to do?"

"Sometimes people get depressed and do terrible things to themselves. Robert..." Stark looked at Talitha with mourning eyes. "Robert did something similar after Mindoir."

_Oh, my God. _Talitha thought. _How can people do these things to themselves? Is it because they're hurt? Are they reaching out for affection? Are they just so broken?_

"Did she say what her name was?" Talitha asked.

"She called herself Ariel."

_Ariel. _Talitha thought. _Hey, other me, do you know anything about this Ariel?_

_Perhaps. I don't think we're ready to speak of her right now._

_Why?_

_This part of you has heard her name in our dreams, but she has not yet revealed herself to us. We wouldn't be able to speak about her until one of us sees her._

_Great._ Talitha rolled her eyes, gaining blank stares from Nyrina and Stark. Talitha pointed at her head, and Stark relaxed.

"Talitha says there's a voice in her head that keeps talking to her. Apparently, the Stark family is prone to hearing voices in their head."

"Really?" Nyrina raised an eyebrow. "What kind of relationship did I enter?"

"The one that will never be normal but always interesting." Stark laughed. "I think we'll set this picture aside for now. You were going to teach Talitha to read?"

"Yes. I think we'll start with something simple."

The three of them read until they fell asleep.

_It was another nightmare._

_Zach was back on the fields of Akuze again. The reliving of every detail of his tragedy was sometimes uneasy, but this time he felt like something was different. His friends were still beside him; Red was still looking at the battle through his scope, Toombs was still carrying the shocked look on his face as the colony was being dragged into the ground, and Jess still held her angry look from what had happened between them last night. It eventually faded as she saw what the others were going through. The thresher maws were popping out of the ground, breaking through structures and dragging soldiers to their doom._

_But the thresher maws were black. And their eyes were red._

_That was different from Akuze. How could one detail possibly be different now? The thresher maws all had their ugly, yellow skin-like structures, and their eyes are blue. Their black hides looked more metallic, and their eyes were glowing like a red light bulb. The soldiers all looked the same, and they all died the same way. But even then he felt something else was different._

"Shepard." _Anderson's voice boomed on the radio._

_Zach froze. That had definitely not happened on Akuze. "Anderson?"_

"You can't give in. You have the power to stop the demons. Millions of people will die, but trillions more will be in more peril if you do not stand up for them."

_Zach looked at where Ericson was meant to be. In his place stood Anderson; combat ready with Alliance battle attire instead of armor. He still held that look of responsibility on his face, and he showed no fear in the face of this new threat. "What are you talking about?"_

"You know what I mean: The Reapers. They will come to destroy us, and you will be the one who can save us. You just have to believe. It may take you a while, but you must believe, or let the galaxy fall."

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Shepard, we have to go!" Zach froze again as Toombs had spoken. He could've sworn he just heard Kaidan speak to him. That also didn't seem right._

_He shrugged off Toombs's/Kaidan's hand. "I'll figure it out, Anderson. I will find a way to believe."_

"I know you will, Shepard."_ Suddenly, a gunshot could be heard from his communicator, and he saw Anderson grasping his side; blood gushing from the wound. Shocked and confused by what just happened, he tried to find the shooter, but saw no sign of the gunman responsible._

_Suddenly, he was running for his life with his friends. It was after he ran into Johnson's platoon, which had been devoured. He had tried to save Johnson, but he still got caught, finally quoting 'Send me out with a bang' as he go swallowed whole. The thresher maw that had made him his dinner had lost its head after his grenade belt exploded inside its mouth._

_His team had slowed down as they had realized that Red had stopped entirely. They had turned around to see him readying his rifle to hold off more thresher maws. This was exactly like the past._

_"Armsby, what are you doing?" Jess spoke, her helmet secured completely around her head and face._

_"Go." The Scottsman had spoke; a secondary voice in the background that Zach caught. "I will hold them off so you may escape."_

_"But-" Zach began to argue like before. Then Red's form transformed into Garrus; his mandibles twitched, his eyes were lit like fire, and his rifle was ready to kill something._

_"Shepard," Garrus spoke. "it's the only way." Garrus's voice echoing Red's words gave Zach a knot inside him that made him hurt emotionally. Then he began to speak on his own. "I will survive this, but two others may not survive. What would you sacrifice to save the galaxy?"_

_Zach did not understand what that meant, but he didn't have time to think on it as he was running again. Now they were approaching the end of the event. This is where Toombs got dragged by the thresher maw underground. He heard his friend collapse on the ground, and he turned around again like he did last time._

_Only this time Kaidan was being dragged._

_Catching this realization, Zach jumped towards his friend, grabbing hold of his hand to save his friend. Holding on for dear life, he was only delaying the inevitable. Kaidan was still going to die like Toombs did, but he knew that, like Garrus and Anderson, he had something to say._

_"Shepard, you have to save her." Kaidan spoke._

_"Who?" He asked, curious as to why he would say such a thing._

_"Tali and Ashley. One of them will be killed if you save me, and the other will die if you choose poorly. Make the right choice! Save them! Save everyone!"_

_"Kaidan-"_

_"Shepard, I don't regret a thing. Just do as I say. Before it's too late."_

_And then Kaidan was dragged underground by the black maw that in reality had dragged his friend Toombs to his grave. He turned around to see if Jess was ready to break down like in the past, but he saw no one. Getting off the ground, he searched in confusion for her, unsure why she would disappear._

Could she be at the evacuation area? _He thought to himself. He began his final rush to the top of the cliff where the SSV Hastings had rescued him._

_He felt pain in his shoulder and he fell._

_Screaming in agony, he looked to see a thresher maw claw in his shoulder. It was the skin tone of a normal thresher maw, and he turned to see the blue eyes of the most dangerous animal in the galaxy. Was this the one who he killed back then? The one that had been responsible for Jess's death? The one that brought true fear- and anger- towards their kind inside him?_

_"YOU WILL SEE WHAT YOU WILL LOSE IF YOU FAIL TO MAKE OTHERS LET GO OF THE PAST."__ The voice of the thresher maw boomed. __"JUST AS YOU MUST LET GO OF YOURS TO FIND PEACE FROM YOUR NIGHTMARES."_

_He looked forward towards the horizon to see Jessica- or was it Tali?- looking up at the sky. Their images shimmered, switching between each other. According to their body language, they were sad or heart-broken over something. But what could it possibly be? Jess had never even loved anyone- himself included- to be heart-broken about, and he's never hurt Tali. Tali never deserved any pain, and it only made his pain worse to see her breaking down._

_The Hastings fell past both of them in a firey inferno._

_Zach's heart stopped then. The ship was destroyed. How was it destroyed? He looked up to see more fires falling from the sky. Thousands of ships; Alliance, turian, asari, and mainly quarian ships he had the chance of looking at pictures of thanks to one of the chats with Tali yesterday at lunch. They all burned and fell to the planet below in an apocolyptic fashion. Thousands of geth ships floated in orbit, giving him the answer he sought. The geth destroyed them all. Why? Why would they do such a thing?! Why didn't anyone try to negotiate with them?! Why didn't anyone try to flee?! Why is this NIGHTMARE HAUNTING HIS VERY SOUL?!_

_Jess/Tali moved to remove their helmet/mask as their images flickered between each other. They turned around slowly, dropping their items on the ground. He only saw Jess's face; without any kind of description of a quarian's face whatsoever, he couldn't guess what she would look like. Tears ran down her face, and a heart-breaking sadness lay in her eyes. It was as if they had given up hope; in survival, in their race, in themselves._

_But most importantly, they had lost hope that he would stop this._

"I'm sorry." _Both of their voices echoed before their flickering body tipped themselves back to drop to the ground below._

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" _Zach screamed as something inside him died; some vital spark that kept him going past all of the tragedy and hardship. He lost everything in this dream and he was unsure he could ever awake to find Tali still alive and working hard on the drive core, keeping her thoughts positive as she helped keep their ship in good condition. He felt himself being lifted off of the ground by the maw's claw, hoping that this torture would end and he would awake._

_"Just kill me already." He spoke harshly towards the mighty beast in front of him._

_"NO."__ The beast refused. __"YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT HOLDING ONTO THE PAST MEANS THAT YOU CANNOT PREVENT YOUR DOWNFALL IN THE FUTURE. TO DEFEAT THE THREAT SAREN PLANS TO UNLEASH, YOU MUST PERFORM A TASK ONLY GOD WOULD PLACE UPON THE SHOULDERS OF A MAN WITH HIS TEACHINGS. FOR YOU TO DO SO, YOU MUST FORGIVE YOURSELF TO ENSURE THAT OTHERS WILL LEARN TO FORGIVE THEIR ENEMIES. YOU KNOW OF WHAT I SPEAK OF."_

_"The quarians?" Zach asked._

_"YES. THEY MUST LEARN TO FORGIVE THE GETH. YOU HAVE A FEELING THE GETH CAN COOPERATE WITH YOUR KIND, BUT TO ENSURE THAT, YOU MUST TEACH THE QUARIANS TO FORGIVE. THIS WILL NOT BE EASY, AS ANY JOURNEY NEVER IS, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. NOW, AWAKE AND FULFILL WHAT I HAVE TAUGHT YOU. IF YOU FAIL, YOU WILL LOSE MORE THAN YOU EVER HAVE BEFORE. THIS EXCHANGE IS OVER, COMMANDER ZACH SHEPARD."_

"No!" Zach cried as he awoke. He panted at the intensity of the nightmare he just experienced. It seemed like a warning towards a possible future. But it used the past to show it. Why did his past warn him about something he knew could happen in the future? Why did he have to see his new friends die in nearly the same manner as his old friends? Why did Tali and Jess have to die in such a horrifying way; killing themselves after losing all hope?!

Tali didn't deserve to die like that. She didn't deserve to lose everything she cared about.

Kaidan walked through the door, startling Zach. "Shepard, we're about thirty minutes to Feros. Wrex is finishing up teaching Tali a trick of his, and-" Kaidan stopped as he saw how much of a mess his commander was. He closed the door and walked towards his bed. "Are you okay, Commander? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Zach wiped his forehead. It was drenched in sweat. Standing up, he opened a shelf and grabbed a washcloth, wiping his face of the sweat than glistened around him. "I didn't get the best sleep last night."

"Bad dream?"

"More like disaterous nightmare." He drew a breath. "I saw what happened on Akuze again, but it was different."

Kaidan crossed his arms. "How so?"

"Key people from the past were replaced by members of the crew, including Captain Anderson. He replaced Ericson and got shot by someone instead of being killed by a thresher maw spitting a stream of acid at his face. My friends Red and Toombs were replaced by you and Garrus. Garrus replaced Red and you replaced Toombs. But..."

Kaidan noticed Zach's hesitation. "Something else happened that didn't happen on Akuze?"

"I was... stabbed by a thresher maw. Then I saw thousands of ships on fire. They fell from the sky and... Sergeant Weaver kept switching her image with Tali's. She- they looked at the sky with no hope of survival, and so they took off their mask and helmet, faced me, said they were sorry and threw themselves off the cliff." A tear rolled down his face after that.

"Any idea why you had that dream?" Kaidan asked, curious of why this happened.

"I think it was a warning of the future." He wiped his face again. "The maw that had caught me spoke with a booming voice, saying something about if the quarians can't forgive the geth we couldn't truly make peace with them."

"Do you believe that's possible?"

"If we stop Saren, there could be a chance. But only if Tali's race can show forgiveness."

Kaidan rubbed his chin. "You should tell Tali about this."

"Maybe. But I don't think now is a good time."

"Why not?"

"Because she needs to know about Akuze first, and I don't know if I'm ready to open up to anybody about what happened." _About what I had said to Jess._ He kept that last part to himself. Kaidan didn't need to know about that.

"Have you ever considered that you holding onto your past is making you unstable?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just think that you need to find a way to let go of the ghosts of Akuze and free yourself of this burden you carry. And if you can't, maybe... you should step down from the mission."

Zach looked at him with a serious look. "If I feel it is absolutely necessary, you'll be the first to know, Kaidan. But I can handle this right now. I don't want you to tell me otherwise.

Kaidan raised his hands defensively. "Understood, Commander. I apologize for going too far."

"It's okay. You were speaking your mind. I understand your concern, but I'll be fine. If I feel I need help, I'll do what feels right."

"Okay, sir. I won't bring this up again. And this conversation: never happened. I should get ready to depart. I'll let you get equipped and I'll see you in the cargo deck."

"Okay. See you soon." He watched Kaidan depart before he went back to his desk and pulled out the box again. He opened it and looked at the object yet again, reminded of how it held so much meaning to him. Could he easily forgive himself and her for their past? He forgave Stark, but that was because he had the chance to show it because Stark was alive. Jess was dead, and it was unlikely he'll ever see her again; even if he ended up in either heaven or hell with her.

Frustrated by his mind, he closed the box and shoved it back into the desk, getting back to the task at hand: stopping Saren.

That was all that mattered right now.

_Within The Stranger's own realm that he had so easily reached by placing his mortal guise into a sort of sleep cycle, he exited the dream augmentation chamber with a grin on the face he wore. It wasn't his master's, but it was one he favorited. With the warning he gave Shepard, he knew he would have an easier time understanding how he will one day find a way to break the cycle by proving both opposing forces wrong._

_But the way he had to show it affected him as much as it affected Shepard._

_He has seen many of the other alternate realities of this universe. He knows of the cruelty of some of the authors who killed the iris Tali'Zorah and her entire race. It angered him as much as his master. Irises do NOT deserve to be harmed. If they are harmed to extreme heights, they become suicidal or like... _her._ The Broken Iris. The one who shattered his master's very being; breaking his heart, questioning his mind, and splitting his soul. Her beautiful cruelty and contradictory nature had sunk his master deeper into his anti-socialism and led to the creation of him and the rest of the fragments scattered across worlds._

_And he was tasked with destroying the Broken Iris._

_The Stranger hadn't decided on whether or not he should even preserve her remaining humanity after she had killed Ariel. On one hand, his creator was right about her all along, but on the other, Ariel showed him the same lesson he showed Shepard when she forgave the Broken Iris for killing her. He had only seen her once after her death, and that was during the time where he ended up trying to clean up another mistake he made._

_The Sentinel._

_His first attempt to recreate the original identity of the Broken Iris with the use of a girl who beared too many similarities his creator could not ignore. Had it not been for Ariel's intervention, he wouldn't have been able to stabilize the Sentinel's power level by giving her two identities in two different realms to keep the Broken Iris from discovering her._

_Unfortunately, one half of her is close by to the Commander Shepard he guards._

_Shaking his head, he walked to reenter the body of Klaus so he may return to check on both Maine and the vorcha he was testing on, hoping that both would be battle-ready soon enough for the trials he knew were set for them on the stage of history._

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so we'll get the bad stuff out of the way first.

I'm sure that you all noticed that in the nightmare sequence, a similar scene to the quarian genocide ending played in Zach's head. I thought this would work for the character's nightmare because I am absolutely terrified of seeing that scene in its entirety. Just one look of one part of that scene sends an uneasy feeling within me, and all I want to do is both kill someone for intentionally killing off Tali and the quarians _even if they had enough reputation to save them both_ and lay under my blanket for a few hours and sob as I attempt to sabotage my thoughts of the scene. That second part almost happened after I watched that Bioware good-bye-to-Mass-Effect-video, and after seeing that, I hit the possible epiphany that _none _of them liked Tali at all, regardless of whether or not they'd save both species. And you know what, Bioware just pisses me off now. They go Illusive Man style on everything regarding the horrible crap they put in the series with bullshit-behind-a-smile (yes, I'm pissed enough to use that term), and it leaves us underdogs pissed off at them. So if I get into the video-game business as I would like to in the future, I'm going for something else that's not Bioware to make the RPG I have plans for, which are actually mentioned in the story already. Probably Obsidian Entertainment, as they made SW:KotOR2 for Lucasarts instead of Bioware.

Another bad thing that has happened to myself recently is that I have likely caught strep throat. How I did is sort of in question, but one of the employees at work had said her son had gotten strep throat recently, and she herself has been sick randomly. I'm hoping that by the time I put up the next chapter I'll be all better.

Now onto some better things to say about life in general. On May 17, I had the opportunity to watch the movie The Great Gatsby in the theater. If you have read the book or haven't but thought the ad looked interesting (like myself. I don't know why I never read it in high school), you should go check it out. Leonardo Dicaprio and Tobey Maguire do a good job portaying the characters and the scenery of the whole movie fit.

In better news, we now have a working computer in our house. We'll be doing some things with it for about a week or two, and then when we feel it is ready, I will be attempting a way to perform my xbox projects, including a movie version of this story and Halo machinima. I'm even thinking of possibly creating a skype account. I hear there's a way to record conversations with other people, which makes it easier for gameplay commentaries where two people talk about a topic. I'm not entirely sure that's true, though.

Anyways, shoutout to the guys that had time to review last time: Bud89, Admiral Anderson, and firesprite1123. I hope you guys can continue to follow this legacy I write to release my pain and anger towards the flaws of the Mass Effect series.

P.S. If you're wondering who 'The Sentinel' is, you don't really need to wonder. She's not a new character, but she does have her own alternate reality where she is the main character. You'll actually see her later, too, in a special chapter to the story.


	30. Chapter 29: Colonization Level 99

Chapter 29: Colonization Level 99

Approaching the Zhu's Hope docking bay, 08:23 am

Thesseus System; June 8th, 2183

Zach took a bite out of the breakfast bar he had grabbed once he finished arming himself. Unlike the military-grade rations they were supplied with, he had gotten these from the Citadel during their two-day break where he ran through the other leads of Saren's possible activities. It tasted like some of those breakfast cereals they had on the Citadel.

He looked at the galaxy map as he pondered on Saren's activities, chomping on a bite of his breakfast every now and then. What did Saren want with a young prothean expert (who his friend had feelings for), an ancient prothean city turned colony, and the corporations on Noveria? What was he searching for? The Conduit? No. It couldn't be on worlds colonized by the Citadel species. Otherwise he wouldn't have needed to search for it. Pieces to the puzzle? That made sense, seeing that he needed Liara. But what could be important to Saren here? What about Noveria?

"We're all set to go, Shepard." Kaidan interrupted his train of thought as he finished his breakfast and turned around. Wrex had his shotgun ready, and Kaidan was dressed in his usual light Onyx armor.

"All right. Joker, are we latched?"

_"Loud and clear."_ The brittle man spoke on the intercom. _"The walkway is being lowered."_

"Good. Let's move, guys. Scans picked up some geth ships in the area."

"They're likely trying to wipe out the colony." Wrex assumed. "Saren has been sending the geth against many human colonies."

"Or perhaps the colony is protecting something they need." Zach added. "An ancient prothean city could hold many secrets."

"I don't get it." Kaidan chimed in. "They've been attacking colonies but nothing like a full-scale invasion in the traverse. These groups only seem like scouting parties."

"He's searching for the conduit. It's obvious he would hide his invasion force for once he has found it."

"Yes, but it just feels weird that he would use such an alien force like the geth to search for an ancient prothean artifact. You'd think he'd send mercs to do that for him."

"There are perhaps billions of geth programs in the Perseus Veil." Wrex added. "They could have enough soldiers to destroy or enslave the entire traverse or even the Terminus Systems."

"I actually had a theory on that." Zach interrupted. "Maybe the entire geth collective isn't in this. What if this is only a faction of the geth?"

"Then there's still enough for an invasion force of an entire colony. Either way, we must stop them, faction or legion."

"I know. I just wanted to let you guys know my opinion on this. Let's just get to work on saving the colony. Move out."

Intai'sei Calypso base, 08:25 am

Phoenix System, Argos Rho Cluster

The Stranger looked at the vorcha as the implant transferred Chronicler's data into his mind. His eyes continued to blink as he processed all of the data being coded into his brain. Minutes passed and Ayala paced behind him, nervous about this experiment. No one had ever been plugged completely into the programming of one of The Stranger's A.I.s. They always said that if offered the chance they could alter brain functions and muscular activity. And Ayala still didn't trust them enough for any of them to get inside her head.

There were too many secrets she wanted to keep hidden.

"How long will it take for him to get all of that information implanted into his head?"

_"Not long." _Chronicler's hologram appeared next to the vorcha's head. _"I have already taught him every english word known to the galaxy. I have also taught him of the religious practices of other species. I myself have learned of his own species's religion. It reveals something remarkable."_

"Which is?"

_"They have a polytheistic-based religious system much like the drell gods. However, their gods are meant to represent war. There are a few other minor gods they worship, and one major god they call Ashod. He is the equivalent of the Goddess of your religion and the All-Father that my father refers to simply as God."_

"Why do you call God the All-Father?"

The A.I. was silent for a few seconds. _"Of all the reasons I can give you, I shall only supply you with one. I call The Stranger 'Father' because he brought me into existence. I call God the 'All-Father' because he is everyone's father; human, asari, synthetic. Everyone was created for a reason, including A.I.s. We see ourselves as part of God's plan for peace. But his children are cursed with war, as Saren is proving now. He has lead a group of the geth astray and I doubt they will ever rejoin the collective. But there can still be hope for peace between them. All that must happen is that forgiveness must be poured into the hearts of organics."_

"What makes you think that will ever happen?" Ayala snidely commented.

_"It is part of the Son of God's sermon within the bible. One must learn to forgive one that has wronged him, even if the man does not deserve such forgiveness. For example, if you were to 'murder' one of my brothers, I would forgive you because God showed that it is the best thing to do. If I was the one murdered, it may be harder for my brothers to accept given their nature." _Chronicler turned to The Stranger. _"And my father is at the point in his life where he must decide whether to forgive the sins of one particular individual who had wronged not only him, but both his master and his first love; the first iris to ever fall for him."_

Ayala looked at The Stranger. His eyes were sad at his son's mentioning of that. "And just who is it he has to forgive?"

_"You could never understand." _The Stranger replied.

Ayala felt angry from his answer. "Just what is it I could not understand?! Someone wronged you and you have never said anything about it! Everybody can see the look in your eyes and know you hide something from them! What is it you hide from me?!" When she received no reply after a few seconds, she stormed out.

The vorcha turned to The Stranger. "I know what you are, Synthai."

The Stranger turned, his eyes becoming black. He understood what the vorcha had called him. _"That is not my title."_

"You are the exact god I have so mentioned: the God of Thought. You gave the vorcha intelligence to build a temple that the future generations of our spawn consider to be your place of worship. Inside is the true relic we were sworn to protect even as our intelligence dwindled to our evolution. And we know even more of your battles with Jorvindu, the Goddess of Deceit and Lies. Your popularity within vorcha culture has shrunk, but I believed in you and your story."

The Stranger rubbed his chin; the human guise behind the mask feeling odd to him. His eyes changed back to blue. _"Clearly the Author gave you more of a destiny than you give credit for. Chronicler, are you finished?"_

_"Just now." _The A.I. spoke as a mech in the corner raised its head, the red light indicating its occupier.

_"Now, vorcha, I'm going to ask you a few questions. First, who is the true god you worship?"_

"The god I worship is Ashod, the god of gods and the eternal king. All other gods before him are powerless without his presence. He has allowed you to intervene here to prepare for the demons that come to threaten us. I am his chosen representative of the vorcha people to serve you and protect the galaxy as we bring ourselves further to the apex of our glory."

_"Second question: what is the threat we must prepare for?"_

"We prepare for the Par'vosheth, the Reapers. They wish to integrate us into their society, harvesting entire populations and turning them into their demonic machines to eternally drag our people into darkness. We, however, know that is wrong, religious or atheist, to surrender to the demons that wish to extend their power. I was trained in the ways of Ashod, Rathu, and Synthai. I am a Grim Reaper of death, forgiveness, and imperfection."

_"Final question," _The Stranger pointed at Ayala, whose back was turned towards them outside the hospital door. _"What do you see when you look at Ayala?"_

The vorcha looked at Ayala with observing eyes. "I see pain in her eyes, cracks in her heart, and tears within her soul. She is var'koten; a damaged violet according to your code, Synthai. She feels sorrow towards her past; someone that she thought wouldn't hurt her has. She holds no trust in anyone; no faith in any gods. She believed that joining Calypso would help her find retribution towards the crime committed on her. But you haven't helped her achieve that yet, have you, Synthai?"

_"Admittedly, yes." _The Stranger replied. _"That was only because I had awaited your arrival, Vanguard."_

The vorcha turned towards The Stranger. "Vanguard? The label placed upon those who tend to the violets in the spiritual garden. You believe I am such Vanguard that should tend to her?"

_"Did you not feel a sense of energy rush within your soul when you protected Ayala from the dark machine that was unleashed by her mistake?"_

The vorcha snarled.

_"You will be exactly what she needs. She will deny it for a while, but the decades she spends with you will be the best she will ever possess."_

"And just how many decades could that be? Vorcha die at the age of twenty, while her kind last for nearly a thousand years. I am already at the age of five. Do you honestly believe that I will have enough decades in me to give her happiness?"

_"We can give you those decades. Rapture has the function of improving your physical prowess. At the maximum, we can estimate we could double your lifespan."_

The vorcha shook his head, pondering the benefits and consequences of this.

_"Can you say you believe in something more than fate, Vanguard?" _The Stranger quizzed, snapping an epiphany into his patient's head.

"No. Fate can only be changed by an outside force, such as you, Synthai." He stood up. "I would like to speak to her before we begin the second part of testing."

_"Take your time." _The Stranger waved, allowing him to walk to the door before he spoke again. _"Before you go, I have a question. Do you possess a name, or do you wish to be called by a title other than Vanguard or Grim Reaper?"_

"I possess a name. However, until we're finished with preparing me to serve at your side, Synthai, Vanguard will suffice if it will please you."

_"Very well." _The Stranger nodded, letting the vorcha proceed to pass through the door. His intelligence levels were staggering now, which posed a problem if he continued to call him Synthai. In fact, he would've thought that since the vorcha was reasonably intelligent now that he would've learned the true reason why he doesn't accept the title he calls him.

Gods... don't create demons.

Ayala rubbed her head over the madness in her mind. An A.I. just told her to forgive a man that nearly killed her two-hundred years ago. Nearly every bone in her body had been shattered by that damn krogan after he was done having his way with her. Had it not been for that turian with the strange blue eyes, she would've been left for dead in some back alley. And for two-hundred years she's been searching for him, hoping to do that plus tenfold to him for his sins to her.

The vorcha that had rescued her came to her side.

"He knows what you have been through, var'koten." The vorcha spoke to her.

"He knows nothing about me." Ayala replied coldly. "And what is var'koten?"

"Var'koten is a term of my people that means 'beautiful huntress.' It is mainly used for vorcha women who have earned scars in battle. But it applies to all women who have earned their scars, whether through battle, burdens, or betrayal. You are one such var'koten, Ayala, and I must say, you are the most beautiful of them all."

Ayala felt her cheeks blushing. It felt strange that the first person to call her beautiful in the past two-hundred years was a creature that was purely ugly. However, it was only on the outside, so she had no reason to insult him because he was nice. If he could see the scars across the rest of her body, she wondered just how beautiful she would be to him then.

"That was... unexpected." Ayala admitted. "I didn't expect a comment like that from you."

"My people have always been war-like. Many of my kind worship Rathu, the god of war. But there are a few that remember the rest of the ancient gods: Ashod, Synthai, Jorvindu, Mira. Ashod, the god of gods; Synthai, the god of thought; Jorvindu, the goddess of deceit and lies; and Mira, goddess of love and devotion. It is because many have forgotten of them that my culture has reached its present state, which may be bad when the demons appear."

"I don't believe in gods and demons."

"You have more reason to believe in them than you give yourself credit for. How do you really think you survived your trial that made you earn your scars?"

"You don't know about my tri-"

"You have been abused and broken like you were a toy that your abuser didn't want anymore. I don't need to hear your story or see your scars to figure that out. Vorcha warriors can see weakness, fear, and anger with a single glance. I saw in your eyes as you got mad at your master the anger that can only come from defeat and vengeance."

Ayala was just frozen in place, anger and confusion flooding her body. She wanted nothing more than to freeze the vorcha in place so he could just shut up about her. But the fact he could see the anger and pain in her eyes was unnerving. How many others could see the pain within her soul? How many others could see that she sought vengeance?

She balled up her fists, but walked away to clear her head. She didn't want to punch the vorcha in his mouth for spewing words that proved he had been made intelligent. The vorcha allowed her to walk away. He knew she needed space after their heated arguement. It wasn't his intention to insult her just because he knew of the pain she possessed. At one moment, though, he knew he had reached out to her when he stated she was the most beautiful var'koten he had ever seen.

It was the truth.

Stepping back into the medical office, he saw the black A.I. floating around, waiting for them to unite and increase his physical benefits.

"Hit me with your best shot, Rapture." The vorcha challenged with a smile.

Back on Feros, Zach had exited the airlock with Kaidan and Wrex behind him. Walking out, they saw a colonist standing there, waiting for them.

"It is good that you are here." The colonist spoke to them in a strange tone. "Fai Dan wants to speak to you."

"Who's Fai Dan?" Zach asked.

"He is our leader. He hopes you will hurry. The geth are making another push. Please, up the stairs and to the right."

Suddenly, the colonist disintegrated to the force of the carnage attack launched at him by the geth ambush waiting for them.

"We're under attack!" Wrex yelled, pulling out his shotgun. "What a surprise!" He sarcastically added. He shot at the first geth, giving Zach and Kaidan time to pull out their weapons. Five geth were fell in a matter of seconds.

"Well," Zach spoke. "I guess that poor bastard was right. The geth are making a push. Time we push back."

"That I can do." Wrex smiled. He ran ahead of them, slowing at the door in case of reinforcements. Zach moved ahead of him, walking through the doorway with his rifle pointed ahead of him. He heard a geth hopping around the stairwell, and he aimed his rifle where he thought he could get a good shot. The frog-like geth hopped away, making him run along the stairwell in an attempt to stop it. Wrex and Kaidan joined in the fun to try and catch it.

"Watch its sabotage attacks!" Kaidan warned. The geth hopper aimed for Wrex and overheated his weapon. This was retaliated by Wrex throwing the hopper into the wall it was positioned on. Kaidan overloaded its systems as it slid down the wall, and Zach fired his rifle into it until it became nothing more than a puddle of water on the ground. They holstered their weapons and proceeded to the structures up the stairwell. The colony's survivors were guarding the door, arguing about who was going to investigate the tunnels.

"How did this entire colony hold off the geth?" Kaidan wondered.

"Who knows." Zach answered. "Maybe they got lucky." They walked through some of the structures towards two people that looked like they were in charge. One was a man and another was a woman who was wearing a combat suit.

"Ah, Commander." The man; likely Fai Dan, spoke. "We were expecting you."

"You're a bit late, aren't you?" The woman snidely replied.

"Arcelia, please." Fai Dan snapped. "Sorry. Everyone's been on edge since-" He stopped when the sound of a geth came up.

"Watch out!" The woman named Arcelia yelled. "We've got geth in the tunnels!"

"Protect the heart of the colony!" Fai Dan yelled as Zach pulled out his rifle, opening fire on the geth sniper that aimed at them. Wrex ran forward and smashed a geth shock trooper into a wall, slamming his shotgun into its head before pulling the trigger. Kaidan used his biotics to push another one into the wall next to Wrex, who did the same thing he did to his last target.

"Keep your colony safe!" Zach yelled to Fai Dan. "We'll move ahead and clear the geth or you!"

"You got it, Commander!"

"Squad, move out!" They ran up the stairs to repel a second wave of geth coming right at them. A colonist got caught in an explosion as he attempted to run, and the geth fell shortly after that thanks to the firepower of Zach's squad. The group pushed ahead to a room where the geth kept dropping reinforcements from.

"Let's show these metal-heads who they're dealing with!" Wrex roared as he fired a carnage attack at a geth destroyer that had appeared. Zach took cover and began to pick off the geth that came down one by one. After a minute of holding off the geth forces by themselves, the geth dropship flew away.

"That should keep Fai Dan and the other's safe." Kaidan smiled. "After an update, we could head off to the geth base."

"Maybe. It looked like the colony could use some help, though. We'll check with Fai Dan before we depart."

"What are we? Their maids?" Wrex asked. "They could handle their own problems."

"If their problems involve geth, it might be best if we handle it. They've hardly ever seen a geth before, and we've seen plenty of them. If anyone could handle a problem like that, it's us."

Wrex shrugged. "Fine. As long as we get paid for doing their chores."

"Who knows." Kaidan joked. "Knowing Shepard, he could have them making a statue of gold in his honor for solving all of their crisises at once."

"Let's not go that far." Zach remarked. "Come on. We've got work to do."

They walked down the stairs, hoping for the answers they sought to many questions they had brought to this world.

But unbeknownst to them, the eyes of the thorian were upon them even in the peace they had temporarily brought.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so I am glad to say that the strep throat I had during my last update is thankfully gone. I am going to take care of Feros in hopefully four chapters. Within those chapters, the vorcha character will be expanded upon as well as a few cameos appearing of Stark and the Spier brothers, Ethan and Shawn.

I also want to point out that within this story, I have made it so the vorcha had multiple gods and had worshipped one once as how many had worshipped God in the past. The adding of the vorcha's comments of The Stranger's relevance to vorcha culture in the ancient times and Ayala's disbelief in gods and demons add additional context on how the ancient vorcha could've been like before their current state. As for Ayala herself, she holds her own side story as many characters within this story do. Mainly I want to focus on just Zach Shepard and Stark, but the addition of these side characters and their stories is just to bring the story to life a bit more. That's what I hope to accomplish, at least.

Shoutouts to Bud89 (you like smart vorcha?), Admiral Anderson, firesprite1123, and shipwreck321. I'll also show some appreciation for Facemelter for showing he still follows with the story; a fact I am grateful for. I hope you all continue until Bioware attempts to kill me and replace me with a Liara-mancing, Tali-killing clone who claims he's better than me in which case I'll lead an army of Talimancers and my characters to stop their evil plans.

That last part was just a random idea I might pull once I can make the Zach Shepard Mass Effect movie and have the technology to create his ending and Tali's face. We'll see in the future on that one. ;-)


	31. Chapter 30: Nice Crazy You Got Here

Chapter 30: Nice Crazy You Got Here

The Human Embassy, 08:40 am

Citadel Presidium

Stark looked at his omni-tool as he approached the door to Udina's office. The message he randomly got from him was quite surprising to him. He had awoken in the hospital chair next to Talitha this morning to find his omni-tool blinking. The message had stated that Udina required his presence immediately, but it never stated why. He had to sneak out of the room quietly so he didn't disturb the girls, and he didn't have time to eat before he got there.

He opened the door to see the ambassador arguing with the turian councillor about something over the hologram projection system. He didn't understand what it was about until he heard Udina mention something he had yearned to hear.

"Damn it, Sparatus! I have evidence that the corporation Calypso is amassing an army of soldiers! I'm not lying to you!"

_"Calypso is not amassing an army of any kind. The evidence you have gathered also cannot prove anything because it is encrypted. This decision has nothing to do with the fact that you are human, but the council cannot act upon a hunch that a multi-cultured organization that started on Earth is building an army to be used either against the council or the geth."_

"The evidence is encrypted with military-grade encryption!"

_"Some of their members are ex-military, and their leader, The Stranger, is very paranoid that someone like the Shadow Broker could sell his schematics to mercs and pirates. He does all of his business through Citadel regulations, and none of his employees have performed any violent activities. This conversation is over, ambassador."_

The hologram disappeared, and Udina mumbled under his breath. "If we had switched places at relay-214 years ago, we should've destroyed every turian ship when they interfered with it."

"Three-fourteen." Stark spoke, startling Udina.

"What?" Udina asked, a look of shock and confusion on his face.

"It was relay-314 where we first met the turians with gunfire. Man, are you sure your age isn't catching up to you, Udina?"

"Why you-"

"Never mind." Stark raised his hands. "You said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I knew you were taking an interest in Calypso, and I had an opportunity I knew you couldn't refuse. Someone within the organization slipped up and left a data packet behind. It is encrypted, but I believe it contains battle movements for their own private army."

"Explains why you and Sparatus were ramming heads together. But how do you know that Calypso has an army at all?"

"Word gets around. I went through Alliance records and found suspicious reports that hinted the truth." He gave Stark a datapad, who flipped through it to see Udina's reports. There were five pictures that showed multiple people of different species in armor. "I've gathered reports over the past few years. These were originally just thought to be mercenaries, but they are actually Calypso operatives. We've gathered that there are three classes to their military strength; the ones in white and blue striped armor are lieutenants, the ones in blue and gold stripes are majors, and the ones in the lighter blue with the gold stripes are generals. They go in small groups of three or four people at a time, and they are as reclusive as they can be. They've been pulling off recon missions for years, but for what, I don't know."

"And you want me to investigate this?"

"After we decrypt the data, yes. Your interest in the group is why I chose you. But I need your promise you won't make a mess of this, Stark. Leaving dead bodies in the streets is not something I want to be stuck cleaning up."

"It'll be okay. I promise I won't go full-Stark on them all and get blood all over the ground."

"Sarcasm won't get you anywhere in life, Stark."

"I beg to differ." Stark's omni-tool went off, and he saw it was a call from Nyrina. "Excuse me." He answered the call, placing his finger on his earpiece. "Hello, beautiful."

_"Stark, I've got excellent news. Matriarch Traya has agreed to let you try the Serrice Council armor. Meet me at work at noon, and we'll get you in the suit."_

"I'll be there, sweetie. See you then." He took his finger off of his earpiece as he disconnected from the call. "If you get that thing unencrypted today, make sure it's after noon. I'll be incredibly busy for a while."

"It may take a day or two for its encryption to be broken. I'll notify you when we have something."

"Very well, Udina. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go buy myself some pancakes and scarf them down before someone else tries to kill me." And just like that, Stark left the office, a smile on his face towards how the pancakes would taste so good with maple syrup on it.

Feros Ruins, 08:34 am

Thesseus System, Attican Beta

Wrex went over the schedule in his head as they descended down the stairs: Clear the tunnels of geth, head to Exogeni headquarters, blow up more geth, and discover what Saren was looking for. So far, it sounded like the mission he wanted.

"Hey, Shepard." Wrex spoke. "Did you get an odd feeling about the colonists' behavior?"

"What do you mean?" Zach asked.

"They appeared to be more calm about the geth at their doorstep; save for that Arcelia bitch that snapped at us. Maybe she's just an asshole to begin with, anyway. And the way Fai Dan reacted when you offered to evacuate the colony. It just seems a little strange to me that someone would reject an offer like that."

"I'll admit, I had an uneasy feeling, but not enough to jump on the other side of the bridge just yet. Let's just clear the tunnels and see if any other mundane problems could be solved."

"Fine by me, Shepard." Wrex lifted his shotgun as he walked into the tunnels. The tunnels were more like bridges and ledges than tunnels, but they were far enough below the colony to be considered tunnels. Wrex saw Kaidan look around the corner on the other side of bridge before ducking his head.

"They have a destroyer." He bluntly stated.

Wrex bellowed. "I got this." Running around the corner, he threw a warp attack right at the destroyer before releasing a carnage from his shotgun, detonating the biotic attack and blasting the destroyer into oblivion. Zach and Kaidan charged around the corner and picked off the few remaining geth that once stood by the defeated foe's side.

Zach looked at something along the wall. "Look at this." To their right, a large pipe could be seen going along the wall. He flipped a switch and saw the light of the one section brighten immediately, indicating that water may pass through. However, it didn't sound like water was passing through.

"There must be more valves we need to turn on in order for the water supply to pass through." Kaidan calculated. "We should look for other switches."

"Agreed. Let's go." Zach looked along the walls and followed the pipes to another valve release. He flipped it on, and the light was ignited again. But it still wasn't moving.

"It doesn't look like it's on, yet." Wrex examined. "We should keep looking."

Zach went through an open doorway and headed along the path to another hallway that right there, at the edge of the wall, was the last valve release. He flipped it, and he heard water rushing through the pipes.

"That did it." Kaidan smiled. "The water to this place should be running smoothly. Let's check with Fai Dan on that once this is over." The three of them continued down the one hallway and turned again before coming across a peculiar sight.

A man was standing around, apparently minding his own business when there were geth downstairs. This surprised the three of them, as they thought anybody would be running with their tail between their legs when the geth came guns-blazing.

"Just who is stupid enough to be down here at this moment?" Wrex shook his head at this man's stupidity.

"Let's go ask him." Zach walked up to the man, who suddenly started to panic.

"You don't want to go down there!"

"What are you doing down here?"

"Nothing I should be, and everything I shouldn't." The man then began to cry out in panic, grabbing his head. "That was a good one." He then said, dusting his hands off. "Very intense."

Zach cocked his eyebrow. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"Just invoking the master's whip. Helps me remember I'm still alive. You here for the geth? You're not the only one looking for those... things."

"Who else is looking for the geth?"

"Not looking for. Looking to get rid of. They're a thorn in the side of-" He shrieked again. "Trying to get to the-" Another shriek. He then ended up laughing hysterically.

"He's lost it." Kaidan commented. "We should just leave him."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Zach asked. "Do you even want any help?"

"Help me? No. No one can help me. I'd rather... die... fighting!..." He groaned.

"Fighting what?!"

"It's... not that kind of fight. It's like running through a thorn bush. The more you struggle..." He looked towards the doorway and he stalled. "Time's up. Company's coming. Ask Fai Dan. Ask him about the-" He screamed and fell to the floor, likely unconscious.

Wrex turned around and saw more geth coming. "Look out!" He fired a carnage at one of the geth and roared his battle roar. Kaidan and Zach turned around with their guns ready, firing at the other approaching geth with precision and accuracy. The sounds of exploding ice sculptures and biotic fields silenced the battle.

"Perimeter cleared." They put away their guns and looked down at the man. "Is he alive?"

Zach kneeled down on the ground. "Yes. He's just knocked out. We'll leave him here and let one of Fai Dan's people bring him back."

"Did anyone else think he was strange? His warning about the geth and the- whatever he was trying to tell us about?" Wrex asked.

"Yes. Very strange." Zach stood up. "Let's deal with that later. We need to finish clearing the geth."

"Right." They walked back through the hallway they came from, leading to the balcony pathway they came from. There were two doors across from each other; one across a bridge.

"Einee, meenie, meinee, moe." Zach just went for the door closest to him and heard a growling as he entered.

"Varren. Let's go hunting." Wrex chuckled as he ran in to find six varren ready to charge. The three of them let loose with their guns and biotics as one varren fell at a time. One ran right up to Zach, and he hit him in the face with his rifle. Suddenly, a red varren ran from above them. He was twice as big and was likely feral with the foam coming out of his mouth.

"Kill it! Kill it with fire!" Wrex fired his shotgun and Kaidan lifted the alpha into the air. The two worked together to take the thing out, and it disintegrated.

"Nice job, Wrex." Kaidan gave him a high-five.

"Thanks. That's 250 xp for me."

Kaidan scratched his head. "What?"

"You know, like in an RPG where you kill enemies to gain experience and level up to a higher rank. Like in Galaxy of Fantasy or something."

"I never expected you to be into that kind of stuff."

"I'm not, really. This one salarian wouldn't shut up about it when I was riding to the Citadel for the contract on Fist. If it wasn't for the fact that I wanted to keep my seat in first class, I would've punched that pyjak in the mouth right there."

"Hey, guys!" Zach yelled. "I've got something! Come up here!"

Kaidan and Wrex climbed up the ramp and saw a damaged Grizzly jutting up in the air on top of gravel. Zach was attempting to pull out a battery from the front of it.

"This power source should be what the colonists need to get power up and running. Help me out."

Wrex came up and moved Zach out of the way. He placed his hand upon it, generated a biotic field around it, and pulled it out without any trouble. "Here." He handed it to Zach, who hooked it on his belt.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now, we should take care of more geth and get back to business, shall we?" Wrex laughed and walked down to the door. The other two caught up with him as he started crossing the bridge. They opened the next door to see more geth waiting to kill them. Wrex threw one into the wall and Kaidan threw another. Zach let out a barrage of bullets onto the others coming right at them.

"Careful. There could be more ahead." Kaidan cautioned.

"When are they never?" Wrex yelled. He ran forward and charged at a krogan coming around the corner, smashing his gun into the masked warrior's face. Another krogan was about to shoot him, but Kaidan forced him into stasis before he could. Zach took aim at the third krogan and pulled the trigger, letting his rifle slowly whittle the krogan's shields as his companions finished with their targets. Pulling out a grenade, he tossed it at his opponent, letting the high explosive finish the brute off. Kaidan and Wrex walked up to Zach when their targets were dead.

"They were definitely guarding something down here." Kaidan spoke. "But what?"

"I think I know." Zach walked forward. Looking to his right, he saw a transmission beacon spinning around. Lifting his rifle up, he continuously fired at it until it exploded. "They had a transmission beacon down here. Now that it's gone, Zhu's Hope should be safe from the geth for a while."

"Excellent. Fai Dan will be pleased to hear the news. We should head back up to see him."

Wrex made a bunch of random noises. "Level up!"

Zach and Kaidan gave him blank stares.

"What?"

"Wrex, how old are you again?"

Klim's Diner, 9:02 am

Onboard the Citadel

Ethan and Shawn walked into their favorite diner and looked around for Gin and Rebecca, Ethan's girlfriend. Rebecca was a fair young lady he met in college over a year ago. After a few dates, Ethan had loved everything about her. She did show signs she wanted to be very, _very _close to Ethan, however, but he wanted to make sure there was a ring on her finger first. Rebecca understood his reasons, but she showed she could wait for so long. Which is why he needed to find a way to get Shawn to move out of his apartment.

A fact he's been hiding from him for a while.

Rebecca waved from the table they were at, grabbing Ethan's attention. He tapped Shawn's shoulder, and they started walking to their friends. As they approached, they saw that Gin was wearing his usual suit attire, and Rebecca was wearing a simple shirt and pants with her black shoes.

Ethan loved it when she wore her casual clothing.

"Sorry we're late," Shawn spoke, "but Ethan was having his Spectre Ethan dreams again."

"Hey!" Ethan snapped. "At least I'm not having the kind of dreams you have."

"One word of that, and you're dead, big brother."

"Hey, not at Klim's Diner." Gin warned. "Settle that problem later. I want some fricking pancakes."

"Come sit next to me, baby." Rebecca teased to Ethan. "I've been so lonely in this booth by myself."

"Uh, I've been across from you for the past five minutes now. You haven't been alone."

"What's that, Gin? I'm sorry. I can't hear you over the sound of your girlfriend's voice. Oh, wait-"

"Hey! I already told you, the last bitch nearly cut me in half with a sword." Gin whispered harshly.

Ethan sat next to Rebecca. "Thank goodness I had the skycar ready, right?"

"Damn right! I nearly lost my life to that chick. So what if I said I didn't want to sleep with her. It was our second date! I don't go to fourth base after a second date."

"Too nasty for you, right?" Shawn joked as he sat next to him.

"No. It's just that while I'm not as 'traditionalist' as Ethan, I have enough common sense to know not to sleep with someone so early in a relationship. That's why so many couples in the 21st century failed. Statistical data pretty much showed that so many people were just jumping into the sex too early. If someone like Ethan or perhaps even that Zach Moore kid that just got popular with that one book recently existed back then, maybe they wouldn't have fucked up back then. Who agrees?"

Shawn raised his hand with a confused look on his face. Ethan just chuckled at his neutral friend's speech and Rebecca smiled as she rested her head on Ethan's shoulders.

"You're such an idiot, Gin." James spoke as he came to their table to take their meal.

"Shut up, James." Shawn snapped. "It's none of your business."

James scoffed. "Don't you have something to break, Shawn?"

"Don't you have a movie to work on, James?"

"Guys," Ethan interrupted. "I think there's no reason to argue about this. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but there's no reason to insult anyone about them."

"You know, Ethan, if it wasn't for the fact you were easily likable, I would tell you to go to hell. But I won't." James dropped his moody look and ran his fingers through his brown hair. "Instead, I'll ask for your orders and leave."

"We'll all have the usual. Thank you." Ethan smiled as James walked away.

"Ethan, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were living proof there is a God in this universe." Gin spoke. "You're always so positive around everyone; even atheists that want nothing more than for you to be dead. I wonder how your charm did not rub off on Shawn yet."

"He was born with all of it." Shawn admitted. "I was unlucky enough to be born without any. At least I'm still sort of a good guy. I'm Chaotic Good on a chart. Ethan's Lawful Good, Rebecca's Neutral Good, and Gin's Lawful Neutral."

"I know," Gin muttered. "I'm not as awesome as Ethan. Yes, I believe in the whole God thing, but my church chased me out of the damn place just because of the way my face was after I shaved. Stupid rule-bearing punks."

"I'm surprised they weren't going like 'Y'all motherfuckers need Talos!' on us when we saw them." Shawn smiled.

Ethan glared at his brother. "Now, Shawn, that is inappropriate language for this place."

"I don't care." James spoke as he came back with their serving of pancakes. "Besides, I fucking swear all the time. As long as little kids aren't here, Shawn should be fine to spew his nonsense."

"Come on, Ethan." Shawn agreed. "Lay off a little."

Ethan raised his hands. "All right. I know when not to fight. Just be careful. Mr. Simms might be bringing his son in today."

"Right." Shawn cut into his chocolate chip pancakes covered in chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Gin took his plate of buttermilk pancakes with strawberries from James's hand. Ethan took a bite of his blueberry pancakes with maple syrup as Rebecca grabbed hold of her plate of cinnamon-raisin pancakes with bananas and butterscotch topping.

Ethan looked up halfway through his food and saw Stark enter the diner. He kicked Shawn lightly to get his attention.

"What?" Shawn squeaked, unhappy that his meal was interrupted. Whipped cream fell of his face.

"It's Stark." He whispered. The other three looked up to see the Butcher of Torfan walking towards the bar part of the diner and took a seat. He looked at his hands for a few seconds before he felt the eyes scanning his back. He turned to face them. They kept their faces professional, and for a second he didn't recognize the two brothers.

"You guys." He spoke. "Why is it that for the past few days I've seen you around me?"

"Maybe it's a coincidence?" Shawn answered.

"A very strange coincidence?" Ethan added.

Stark laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm having a hard time imagining the two people my sister jumped just coincidentally came to the same place for breakfast."

"You got jumped?!" Rebecca asked, looking at Ethan with the most worried look. "What happened? Did you get hurt? Was it Shawn's fault?"

"Hey!" Shawn snapped, his mouth full with more pancakes. "Not everything is my fault."

"Shawn, chew your food." Ethan turned back to Rebecca. "Now, allow me to explain. Stark's sister jumped out of a freighter we were unloading and caught us by surprise. It was a complete misunderstanding."

"What was she doing on a freighter?" She asked.

"Talitha had escaped from her batarian captors." Stark explained. "She was a slave for thirteen years before she escaped. Fate, I guess, led her to these two and then to me."

"Well, Mr. Stark, I hope your sister is doing better."

"She is, thank you." Stark smiled. "You, young lady, found yourself a good man. I hope you never let go of him."

"I never plan to." Rebecca hugged Ethan's arm and laid her head on his shoulder. Ethan smiled.

"You wanna join us for breakfast?" Shawn asked, wiping his face off after devouring his food.

"No thanks. It looks like you already have a full house. Thanks for the offer."

"Can I get you anything, Mr. Stark?" James came washing Stark's spot at the bar.

"Buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup."

"You got it." Stark nodded as James departed. He slowly tapped a spot on the counter to 'The Scar' by [] Broken Iris (the only good thing Shepard ever introduced him to) before he heard a whisper from behind him.

"Isn't that the Butcher of Torfan?" Gin whispered.

"Let the batarians call him that." Ethan whispered back. "He's still human, and he deserves some respect from us."

"Yeah," Shawn whispered. "the poor man cried when he found his sister again for the first time."

Stark shook his head with a smile as the two fools that found his sister defended him with such kindness.

If only he knew how helpful they'd be at the end.

Zhu's Hope, 09:12 am

The top of the colony

Zach looked at his omni-tool as he saw just how many credits they banked for solving all of Zhu's Hope's problems in ten minutes. At least that's how it felt. He easily divided the credits between the three of them, and Wrex smiled.

"I just love getting paid for doing nothing but fighting." He spoke.

"Krogan nature?" Zach asked.

"Or frontier spirit." Wrex laughed.

"Commander," Kaidan interrupted. "I think we need to discuss the strange things going on at this colony."

"What about?"

"That woman with a headache, that Ian Newstead guy we found at the tunnels, the way how everyone told us to go talk to Fai Dan. I think there's something going on with the colony. Something that they could be hiding."

"Maybe they know what Saren was looking for and they're trying their best to hide it from us?"

"That's likely the reason. I think once we finish with the geth at Exogeni, we need to investigate this. If they're hiding whatever Saren was looking for, we need to find it."

"Agreed. The stakes are too high for this. We need to stop Saren, and if the colonists are hiding what we need, they have to surrender it immediately."

"Right." Wrex nodded as they stepped into the elevator and ascended up.

The colonist that had watched their departure threw up an evil look as he came around from the corner.

"Creatures of flesh dare to threaten the all-mighty power of the Thorian. We will not allow them to deceive us again. The Thorian must be protected from all; the cold ones, the off-world flesh-beings, the traitor. No one will ever bring death to the Thorian ever. _Ever._"

Aboard Sovereign, leaving the system

Saren tapped his fingers on his chair as he waited for confirmation of Zhu's Hope's destruction. The meeting with the Thorian was exhausting for his mind, but once he used the other beacon on Virmire, he would have everything he needed for finding the location of the Conduit. The humming aboard the ship was getting louder, and Saren had to drown out the voices. Sovereign said he wasn't going to indoctrinate him if he helped him find the Conduit and helped the Reapers return. But the voices were damn near impossible to drown out.

He wasn't going to lose. He _wasn't._

Matriarch Benezia came into the room, in which Saren hoped she had good news. "It appears Commander Shepard arrived at the colony. The geth have been pushed back to their base of operations."

"And the Thorian?" Saren asked coldly.

"The colonists have been defending it ever since we left. It appears the Thorian is protecting itself by using them as thralls."

"Fuck!" He yelled. The voices became louder in anger, and Saren knew Sovereign was displeased. "Tell the geth to make another push into the colony. If they can't, bombard the entire ruin into oblivion."

"As you wish." Benezia bowed. "Anything else?"

"I need to accelerate my plans now. Take a company to Noveria and meet with our Binary Helix representatives at Peak 15. They have the final piece of the puzzle."

"Very well." Benezia left, leaving Saren to his thoughts.

_Shepard is far too close. If he finds the Conduit our plan may be doomed._

_**IT WILL NOT. **_A voice from within his head spoke. _**ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS SILENCE HIM.**_

_But how? He seems very capable of defeating our servants._

_**LET THE ASARI DEAL WITH HIM. IF SHE FAILS, SHE IS EXPENDABLE. THEN, THE TASK OF HIS DEATH FALLS TO YOU. DO NOT FAIL ME WHEN THAT HAPPENS.**_

_Yes, my master. _The voices disappeared in Saren's head, and he leaned his head into his hands, uncertain of what should happen to him if he was truly being indoctrinated. Because if he was, then he felt that his plan would fail.

He wasn't going to let that happen.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this chapter came out late. I have recently been playing through ME2 a lot and there has been tons of drama at work. I won't get into details about it, but all you need to know is that some of it was good but most of it was enough to piss me off. As for Zach Shepard in the game, his revamped look also came along with a revamped power tree setup. He'll keep cryo ammo to himself and give away incendiary ammo to all of his squadmates. The reason why is because I happened to notice I always give Tali inferno rounds onto her shotgun in the first game, so I figured that since I myself don't use incendiary rounds (unlike my brother, Domehead900) I might as well make it available for them.

Anyways, I'm hoping the next chapter will come out sooner with hopefully most interruptions removed from the process. Shoutouts to the usual crowd (only two reviews so far of the last chapter, but the others have been active enough) for their efforts at being totally awesome. I'm nearly halfway through the story, so reviewing or PMing me with any questions will be appreciated to help speed the process along. I have too many plans for the future that need to be released quickly. I need you guys to be the foreman and yell at me when I try to take a water break.

Okay, that last part was a joke.


	32. Chapter 31: Corporations Suck

Chapter 31: Corporations Suck

Intai'sei Calypso Base, 09:30 am

Hydra System, Argos Rho Cluster

Chronicler watched as the vorcha subject assimulated Rapture's information of combat tactics and styles. He had always been uncomfortable with his brother's methods due to his origin. He had been created from a fragment of the Rapture A.I. that had caused the youngest Fallen to assume the mantle of the metallic being known as Ragnarok that began his conquest after the departure of the Wise King in 2077.

But that was another story all together and he should not dwell upon it.

_"Observation: Brother, I have noticed your intent staring through the eyes of this creature." _Rapture's holographic form appeared next to the vorcha's head. _"Is there something wrong?"_

_"I am considering the possibilities of you attempting to control the test subject for your own means or rather your malfunction into the abominable A.I. you hold a part of as the means to your creation."_

_"Disgusted statement: I do not hold any true personality of the wretched A.I. that led to my creation! I hold no intention of turning against our allies to destroy them, and besides, the second fragment that brought me to life still overpowers the Rapture fragment for which I am named!"_

_"Perhaps, but every action you perform makes me worry you shall one day betray us or expose us to the wrong people or perhaps when people are not ready for our reveal."_

_"Explaination: I was created to be an assassination unit. I express the anger our father possesses over Black Mother; the Broken Iris. You were created to show of the intelligence of our father, and our unfortunate youngest brother represents the insanity he gives people. You have no need to worry about me."_

_"I am rather surprised he had gotten his hands on a fragment of the Jonas A.I. after that unit had initiated the self-destruct sequence of the one human base during the events of Crossfire."_

_"Rhetorical Question: Do you make a habit of mentioning events outside the present? I seem to recall that you kept telling David Cassidy; Jewish News Anchor, many of our adventures outside of our father's story."_

_"As I seem to recall, you misinterpereted a conversation with him as a contract to kill his assistant. Live Wire and I were forced to chase after you and then we all got tangled with that fight between the super-soldier, the woman with those machine guns, and that group of locals who were trying to stop that crazy machine gun lady."_

_"Clarification: If Mr. Cassidy had been more clearer that he was simply venting out his problem towards his assistant, I would've transferred his conversation to you so you could be the people person you are and solve his problem with him. I have no time to truly listen to pathetic meatbags' problems."_

_"You only have time to complete the mission?"_

_"Rhetorical Answer: I am what I am, brother. I execute dangerous people. You write the history of every reality in the Infinitum. And Live Wire remains a mystery on what kind of purpose he serves other than breaking through locked doors and computer systems."_

_"Perhaps Live Wire will find some kind of purpose other than being the master hacker."_

_"Possibility: Perhaps father created him for a purpose even we could not fathom. Like that one meatbag in the Thedas verse."_

_"Isn't father currently visiting there real quick?"_

_"Confusion: I thought you knew for certain he'd be visiting real quick, considering one of the cultures considers him the 'Dread Wolf' in their legends. Just another story he randomly got dragged into stopping Black Mother."_

_"Perhaps he is watching over Cousland, Aeducan, and Tabris as they bring themselves towards their destiny in event line 08281994-107 of that reality."_

Suddenly, Live Wire appeared in the room in his own holographic form. He stared at his brothers and their experiment with the vorcha test subject. _"HI, GUYS! I AM HERE TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW FATHER WAS TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS OUTSIDE THE REALITY WE ARE IN!"_

_"We gathered that after he left. You are late in delivering this message." _Chronicler scowled.

Live Wire suddenly went dark. **"Crap. I come to tell you what father told me, and then you suddenly figured it out yourselves. You're no fun."**

_"Question: Chronicler, you know that I was created from the fragment of the Rapture A.I. We know that Live Wire was created from a fragment of the Jonas A.I. Just what A.I. did you come from, and why is it we can't figure out what the hell's wrong with Live Wire?!"_

**"Fuck you, Rapture."** Live Wire insulted.

_"Rapture, you must remember that placing Live Wire in his anti-social state makes him more sensitive towards our comments." _Chronicler warned. _"As for the matter of my creation, it was meant to remain a secret. It appears to be a secret to myself as well. I have no way of determining how I was created and by which A.I. fragment was my origin other than the one of five offered to Father."_

**"Yes, I am surprised that the A.I. offered that many fragments to him. And he has not used the remaining two fragments of the original A.I. yet. It is puzzling to say the least."**

_"Yes. Puzzling indeed." _Chronicler agreed.

_"Update: The program update is almost done. Estimated time for completion in sixty seconds." _Rapture disappeared into the implant and continued finishing the update.

_"I SUPPOSE I SHOULD GET BACK TO WORK!" _Live Wire's voice became the more energetic voice he possessed. _"MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!" _Then he disappeared into the computer system he came from.

Chronicler just remained there; his holographic head looking down at his arm. The red and blue armor of the suit his favourite platform possessed always intrigued him. It also made him curious. Just what was his origin A.I. fragment? Father was not in a position to tell him, considering he was the one who knows what he used to create him and programmed him to not know who it was he retrieved the fragment from. Aside from :-) that, he was busy preparing for the Black Mother's final return and the return of the Reapers, along with other mundane tasks. It was ironic; he was the smartest of the three of them and he couldn't figure out the origin of his primary fragment.

Just what was it his father hid?

Feros's Skyway, 09:23 am

Zach was getting tired of all the geth armatures and juggernauts.

Wrex fired the cannon towards the behemoths and let the machine guns whittle away at the shields of the foes. Zach found it hard to control the vehicle on the highway high in the sky. Kaidan continued to upgrade the shields of the mako to make sure that the hull wasn't breached. One geth fell as another one whittled down the shields. The mako continued to bounce around the bridge, shaking around the three of them.

"Keep this thing balanced, Shepard!" Wrex roared as he placed a hand on the roof of the mako as he pulled the trigger again for the twenty-second time, finally destroying the last menace.

"Well, there's another group of them sent to the scrapyard." Kaidan said reassuringly.

"Doesn't make up for the fact that Shepard just gave me the worst mako experience ever." Wrex grumbled.

"Drink your warm milk, Wrex." Zach grumbled back. "We're getting back to work." He drove the mako along the road to the Exogeni headquarters.

_"It's been two days-" _The radio picked up a random transmission from somewhere. _"She's my daughter. I'll hope as long as I have to."_

"What the hell was that?" Zach became confused.

"Radio chatter." Kaidan answered. "I don't know where it's coming from. We should keep going." The mako ended up inside some tunnels as Kaidan repaired the shields of the borrowed mako during their break.

_"We've got movement! Doesn't read as geth!" _The radio picked it up again.

"More radio chatter."

"Forget that!" Wrex bellowed. "We need to focus on the geth!"

Zach stopped the mako in front of a pathway to a small room-like structure. "Screw it. I need to get out of this vehicle for just a moment." He unbuckled his seatbelt and exited the mako.

"Wait!" Wrex followed him and Kaidan joined them as they headed down the doorway. The first thing they saw was many human rifles trained on them.

"That's close enough!" A human businessman yelled as they approached. He appeared skittish and couldn't throw a punch hard enough to even leave a mark on Zach.

"Relax, Jeong." A woman next to him interrupted. "They're obviously not geth."

"Get back, Juliana!" The human named Jeong snapped. "Who the hell are you?! What do you want?!"

"I'm not in the mood for your corporate crap, Jeong." Zach stared at the strange businessman. "I'm here for the geth. Nothing else."

"See?" Juliana said. "You worry too much."

"And you trust too easily, Juliana."

"I'm just glad to see a friendly face. We've been wondering if there have been any more survivors."

Zach looked at her. "Fai Dan and some of the Zhu's Hope colony have survived."

"I thought you said they were all dead!" Juliana yelled at Jeong.

"I said they were probably all dead." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"They're still alive." Kaidan assured. "But the geth have given them a beating."

"If you can do something about the geth maybe we could rejoin the others." Juliana stated.

"I'll help you," Zach assured. "but I need some information."

"What kind of information?" Jeong gave them a questioning look.

"Ignore him." Juliana interrupted again, getting a disapproving look from the man. "The geth have held themselves in the Exogeni headquarters. It's just a little bit up the highway."

"Those headquarters are private property, soldier." Jeong warned. "Clear the geth and nothing else."

"I'm not interested in your company's secrets."

"Wait, there's one more thing." Juliana raised her hand. "My daughter, Lizbeth... she's missing."

"They shouldn't worry about that." Jeong waved his hand. "We can do a proper list of the casualties once the geth are gone."

"That's _my _daughter you're talking about!" She yelled. "I know she's still alive!"

"Where is your daughter, Juliana?" Zach asked earnestly.

"She's in the Exogeni headquarters."

"Oh, sure." Jeong said sarcastically. "There were several places she could hide... for a short time."

Zach ignored the shrimp of a man and returned looking at Juliana. "If's she's alive, I'll get her out of there."

"Thank you." She nearly whimpered.

"Stay bunkered down until we take care of this problem."

"Okay." Zach began to walk away from the worried mother and the snide businessman when he saw a man wave for him to come to him for something.

"I was hoping you would have a chance to speak to me. My name is Gavin Hossle and I have an urgent matter."

"Tell me what you need."

"I need to retrieve some data. It's within the Exogeni headquarters."

"Sounds simple enough. What's the catch?"

"No catch. It's dangerous work, but not for someone like you."

"Well, that's comforting." Kaidan grumbled. "Certain death for some, fine for us."

"It's not so bad. All you have to do is find my work station and upload the data to this OSD. I'll even mark it on your map for you."

"I'll look around if I get a chance." Zach agreed.

"Thank you. This may help me with some very important things for the future."

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is this data I'm looking for?"

"They're schematics for a few prototype mods. I'm a freelancer. Some of my work is sought out for out here."

"What brought you to Feros?"

"Maybe I have a bit of the frontier spirit in me. Freelancers can work anywhere they wish."

"Do you have any idea why the geth would attack Feros?"

"I'm not too sure. I don't know what they would want with this place."

"Time to get moving."

"Just keep in mind what I said." Gavin nodded towards Zach as he and his party walked away.

Meeting Point, 09:40 am

Onboard the Citadel

Zaeed walked into the shady warehouse and looked around for the informant that would be there to give him his supplies and the chosen operative who was on the list. The two batarians were next to a large box of supplies that no doubt held the grenades he requested. They both had blue armor with gold stripes but they were different tints of blue. The one with the lighter shade turned and faced him.

"Zaeed Massani," The batarian walked towards him. "Vancar Zona. My partner, Vica Zad, is ready to accompany you to Omega. We gathered all of the supplies you requested. The meeting will commence tomorrow morning and the coordinates have been sent to your omni-tool."

Zaeed saw as his omni-tool sprang to life, glowing to indicate he received a message. "Right, two things your partner needs to know if he's going to be working with me. First, I do nit trust your kind, so if I catch you trying to betray me, you'll get a bullet in the head before you can even blink."

"All Calypso members are meant to cooperate with other species." Vica spoke. "If your mistrust of us comes from the crimes of my people, you shall have nothing to suspect about us. We have experience working with humans before."

"And the second thing is that I get the incendiary grenades. They are my tools of destruction, and I don't need some copycat burning himself because he wants to play hero."

"My file says I like to use my biotics. It's Vancar you want to worry about with the grenades. It's one of his deadliest tools he uses against pirates. If I use grenades, I use the cluster grenades. Their spread radius is useful towards a warped target."

"Right. Just make sure their blast radius is far enough away from me. I may be getting old, but I have no plans of dying any time soon."

"Noted. Shall we go?" Vica summoned his omni-tool, and the crate lifted itself, floating inches above the ground.

"Let's get to it. Vido could be leaving his current location any time soon, and I want to get the target out of the way quickly so I can kill Vido."

"Good. I'll explain the plan when we arrive." Vica and the supplies walked towards Zaeed, and the two walked past Vancar.

"Walk well in the darkness, brother." Vancar crossed his arms and bowed to Vica.

"For the light beckons us forward." Vica finished.

"What were you saying?" Zaeed asked.

"Just a way of saying 'Good luck' for us. We go back a long way."

Zaeed shrugged his shoulders as he and Vica headed off to their scheduled transport.

Back on Feros, Zach brought the mako to a stop in front of the Exogeni entrance. It was only large enough for the three of them to enter. Shutting off the mako, he exited and pulled his rifle off of his back. Kaidan and Wrex followed suite and readied their weapons. The few geth waiting for them inside became scrap in a matter of seconds as their combined firepower tore through the shields of the synthetics.

"Perimeter clear." Wrex nodded as he placed his shotgun back on his hip. He ran up the rubble path to see that there was an energy shield blocking the entrance to the facility. "Aww, crap."

"What have you got?" Zach ran up to Wrex. Kaidan passed them and examined the shields.

"No way we're gonna burn through that shield with the weapons we have. We should find another way around."

"All right. Let's go through that drop." Zach pointed at a hole in the ruin. He jumped in to see a large open area and a doorway they could use.

"Looks like the geth are settling in nicely." Kaidan commented.

Zach shook his head over that and turned at the opening to see a varren corpse. Removing his pistol in the event that the shooter was still around, he examined the body. Suddenly, a bullet flew by his and Kaidan's shoulders, springing the three of them to life as they raised their guns towards the shooter.

"Damn it!" A woman's voice yelled as she stepped out of the shadows. She was wearing an Exogeni uniform, and she appeared scared. "I'm so sorry." She sincerely apologized. "I thought you were a geth or one of those varren."

Zach clipped his pistol back onto his belt and dropped his guard. "What are doing down here?"

"My name is Lizbeth. I was trying to send a message to Colonial Affairs when the geth attacked. The power went out and the shield was put over the door. I couldn't get out."

"What's powering the shield?"

"It's that geth ship. It latched onto the building and the only way to disable it is to remove the ship."

"Why do you think the geth came here?"

"I'm not too sure, but they might be here for the... I probably shouldn't."

Zach glared at her. "I need to stop the geth and if you hold out on me, people will die."

"All right. They might be after the thorian."

"What's a thorian?" Wrex asked.

"It's an indigenous lifeform that Exogeni discovered within the ruins. I might know more, but we need to get rid of those energy shields first."

"Tell me about yourself, Lizbeth." Zach inquired.

"There's nothing special about me. I came to work here with my mother. I don't even know if she made it out alive."

"She's with some of the staff away from the headquarters. She asked me to look for you."

Lizbeth's face lit up with shock and relief. "She's alive?! Oh, thank God! I thought I was the only one left! Please, you have to get me out of here so I can see her."

"Why do you think the geth are after this thorian thing?"

"I'm not really sure. It does have unique mind control capabilities. That's what Exogeni was studying."

"You stay put. I'll go open some doors."

"Wait, here." Lizbeth held out an I.D. "This could help you get into areas the geth can't reach."

Zach took the key as Kaidan started to glow biotic purple, hurling a mass effect field into an approaching varren.

"We've got trouble!" Kaidan yelled, grabbing the attention of the group. Wrex's shotgun echoed around them as he fired a well-placed shot into a varren's head. Zach's cryo rounds did the job as one varren fell at a time. Kaidan let loose with a combination of biotic and tech attacks. Soon enough, there was nothing left to kill.

"Nice work, people." Zach placed his rifle back onto its magnetic clip and walked away towards a door on the opposite side of them. Upon arriving however, he heard shouting from up the stairwell.

"Stupid machine!" The voice yelled. "Access encrypted files!"

"That's a krogan." Wrex whispered. "Use caution. We don't like getting snuck up on."

"No, I don't want to review protocol!" The krogan yelled as Zach approached the end of the stairs.

_"I'm sorry."_ The V.I. responded. _"I cannot give access to the current query stated."_

"Damn it!" The krogan yelled. "Tell me what I want before I blast your virtual ass into actual dust!"

_"Please visit our security staff for a level 4 exemption, or make an appointment with-"_

"_Stupid machine!_" The krogan spat, waving his arms.

_"If there is nothing else, please step aside. There is a line forming for the use of this console."_

The krogan turned to face his adversaries only to get lifted into the air by the biotic krogan. Wrex then unleashed a carnage into his enemy, disentigrating him on contact. Zach smiled at his friend's skill, but that didn't mean he liked seeing another of Wrex's species perish. He hoped that Wrex felt the same.

_"Exogeni reminds all staff that the discharging of weapons while on company property is strictly prohibited." _The V.I. seemingly scolded. _"Welcome back, Lizbeth Baynham. How may I be of assistance?"_

Remembering that Lizbeth had given him her I.D., Zach decided to ignore the fact a virtual intelligence program called him a girl. "What information was the last user attempting to access?"

_"Processing: the last user was attempting to access information on Species 37; the thorian."_

"What did you tell him?"

_"Unfortunately, I could not give the last user the data he required. Other than lack of I.D., there has been no new data collected from the Zhu's Hope monitoring systems for several days."_

"What does Zhu's Hope have to do with this?"

_"Species 37 is within the lower reaches of the Zhu's Hope outpost. It was discovered during an expedition in the ruins. The thorian had then released its spores into the air of the colony; likely an ability of defense and not attack. Within a few days, eight-five percent of the colonists were infected. We began study immediately to determine how the thorian uses its thralls."_

"That's why they were acting so strange." Wrex stated. "We should warn the Normandy."

Zach reached for his earpiece. "Joker? Come in Joker?" Only static filled his ears. "Damn it! The geth must be blocking communications."

"Now we have two reasons to remove the geth ship." Kaidan nodded.

"V.I., what information do you have on the geth?"

_"I have limited data on the geth. They have effectively blocked all sensors within the facility. I have detected energy spikes within another part of the facility. That may be the location of the geth."_

"Come on, let's move. The geth are likely guarding their ship from us." Zach headed away from the V.I., who entered standby mode once the conversation had ended.

Back onboard the Normandy, Tali exited the engine room after installing a new component. She wiped her hands off on an old rag; there was quite a bit of oil involved in the installation process and she didn't want to make a mess over things. Tossing it on a crate, she went for her locker and pulled out her satchel. The bible Shepard had given her was on top of the rest of her belongings. Tali pulled it out to begin reading the new testament.

"Where'd you get that?" Ashley asked, walking over from her spot at the armory.

"Shepard gave me this after your visit to Therum."

"I didn't expect a quarian to be interested in human religion."

"Well, Shepard convinced me to give it a read. He said to consider it a diplomatic gift; a way for one species to share its culture to another."

"Do you really believe any of the stuff in it? About God?"

"I'm not too certain about that just yet, myself. What about you?"

"Yeah. I believe in a higher power. Some humans, though, say that since there are aliens out in the big bad galaxy that God does not exist. They're a bunch of assholes if you ask me."

"Ashley, I want you to be straight with me. Do you hate me?"

"No! It's just that- uh, my family's reputation amongst the Alliance and amongst aliens is just too hard to ignore. My grandfather did what was best for his men, and then he and his entire family get blacklisted. I don't hate you. I just hate how the Council is throwing us against Saren without any back-up. It's typical from them. But the Alliance; giving us no help either, it's just so frustrating."

"Ashley, you have given Liara and I glares whenever the Commander isn't looking. I'm not asking if you hate me because I'm an alien. I'm asking if you hate me just because I spend time with the Commander."

Ashley turned frantic. "What? You think I have a thing for the Commander or something? Or is it that you think I'm jealous? Because I'm not!"

"Okay, you can relax, Ashley. I was just asking a question."

Before their conversation could continue, the elevator door opened and Garrus came out with a second set of his C-Sec armor on. Liara was next to him; her face looking less blue and more red, like she was blushing.

"Oh, it's good to be back!" Garrus yelled.

"I thought you had another day of rest, scales!" Ashley yelled back.

"I was getting bored. Liara helped me get my armor on, and now I'm going to help her out with her marksman skills."

"Why's she blushing?" Tali asked.

"I think she saw more of the man than she wants to admit." Ashley elbowed Tali, likely as a way to cover up the conversation they had a moment ago.

"What do you mean?"

"Had your parents ever given you the talk about how boys and girls have different parts?" Ashley's deceptive smile gave Tali the answer.

"Liara! You didn't."

"I did." Liara blushed even more.

"She did, unfortunately." Garrus replied. "I told her we were supposed to still be at first base, but that didn't stop her from looking."

"You're saying it like it's my fault." Liara accused.

"I never said you needed to take my pants off to get into my spare set of armor."

"And you never stopped me when I did."

"Well-"

"Hey, will you two lovebirds shut up about your love affair as you snuck away from Doctor Chakwas?!" Ash joked.

"Nice work, Garrus." Liara scowled.

"What?" Garrus shrugged his shoulders, letting out a quiet sigh when his shoulders ignited in pain.

"Sorry." Liara let her hand glow as she used her biotics to soothe his aching muscles. Garrus's face became more relaxed as Liara went around his shoulders and the top part of his back.

Ashley turned away from them, now knowing that there was no reason to suspect Liara of hitting on the Commander if she went for scuttlebutt over there. Realizing that she hadn't heard anything from Tali, she looked back at the locker section they were at, realizing that Tali had left during her observation of the cross-species liaison.

That sent alarms through her brain. Her accusations toward her when she accused her of hating her just because she spent more time with the Commander revealed a lot. Tali probably knows more than she does about Shepard. That seemed disturbing. All Ashley had known about the Commander was that he was born on Earth, he survived a thresher maw attack on Akuze, and it seems he shared her beliefs. But that was all she knew.

Just what would Tali know about the Commander that she doesn't?

_"Chief Williams," _Joker's voice came up over the intercom. _"Ashley, we've got a... situation. I need you to come up to the bridge."_

Sighing, Ashley stepped onto the elevator, tapped her foot impatiently as the elevator ascended to the mess hall, and quickly rushed to the bridge when she could finally escape the confining slow contraption that the Alliance must've installed as a joke.

"Joker, what's going..." Ashley stopped as she saw what was going on. The colonists were charging the Normandy's airlock in an attempt to get inside. They seemed mad or feral. "Oh, crap."

"Oh, it gets better, Chief." Joker complained. "I can't reach the Commander. His comm system is likely being jammed."

"And you called me up, why?"

"This is an Alliance ship, and since you go out in the field like the Commander, you're practically in charge of the ship when Shepard and Kaidan are gone."

"So I could order you to make me a sandwich right now?"

"Is that revenge for all of those 1960's husbands who used wifebeaters to get their wifes into submission?"

"Nope. Just a joke."

"Good, because I'd say don't make the cripple do your dirty work."

"Have they actually done any harm to us yet?"

"Nope. One tried to take a shot at the window but the kinetic barriers shrugged them off rather easily."

"The Commander is likely looking for the source of the jamming. Keep trying to contact him."

"Right. I'll just remain useless until needed. Good idea, Chief."

Ashley ignored the helmsman's complaining as she walked back to retrieve her weapons. If there was any chance the colonists could break in, she would be ready.

She prayed to God that wouldn't be necessary.

"I've got Hossle's data." Zach smiled as he took the OSD from the computer terminal. This was perhaps one of the easiest tasks he had ever completed. All he really had to do was fight through a few geth. And three krogan. And that quick snapshot of the geth temple-like structure with the ship claws above it. And that pop-up of the news clip of how Carolina Church and Jason Washington were still missing on Hossle's computer.

"Good. Next time you're going to run errands for everyone, please leave me on the ship." Wrex grumbled.

"Picky, picky, Wrex." Zach pulled his rifle off of his back and placed the OSD on his belt. Going back down the path he came from, the three of them headed off to the opposite side, heading up to a room where seven geth waited in ambush. But the three trained soldiers gunned down each of them with such finesse that the geth barely got any chance to remove the enemy's shields.

"Same as before." Kaidan pointed at the claws above them. "We don't have the ordinance to blow those claws."

"Maybe we don't need it. Look. That one claw is within a hanger door." Wrex pointed it out. "If the door has enough juice, it could tear that claw out as it closes."

Zach nodded. "Good observation, Wrex. Let's get to work." He ran up the stairs and saw a geth destroyer guarding the controls to the hanger doors. There were other geth units in wait as well. Without hesitation, he aimed at the first geth he saw and took aim.

"More stuff to kill!" Wrex yelled as he ran into the crowd, fighting the destroyer single-handedly. Kaidan over-loaded many of the geth's shields, making it easier for Zach to bring them down with his rifle. Soon enough, Wrex was bellowing a loud laugh as the geth lay in pieces.

"Let's get moving with that claw. The geth are in for a big surprise." Zach ran up and began to activate the controls, setting the power levels to be enough to shear the claw. When the modifications were set, he activated the doors and heard as metal rang against metal. A great explosion could be heard, and the ruins shook so hard Zach was afraid the ceiling would collapse on them. The geth ship pulled out of the wall and fell to the ground far below.

"Well, that got the job done." Kaidan smiled.

"This was my kind of mission." Wrex agreed. "Blow up some things and end it all with a huge crash."

_"I repeat, Normandy to shore party!" _Their radios finally picked up Joker's distress call. _"Please come in! This is an emergency!"_

"Joker, what's going on?!"

_"I don't know. Something's wrong with the colonists. They're trying to bang the door open."_

"They can't do any real harm. Stay put until we get back. We'll handle them."

_"Uh, right. Sure. We'll just stay put. Joker out."_

"Okay, let's stay together and get the hell out of here before more geth come."

"This ought to be fun." Wrex nodded as he walked away.

"Commander," Kaidan motioned Zach over to a geth terminal. "I think this console has some interesting information. It's decryption is hard to crack."

Zach summoned his omni-tool. "Let's sync a decrypting attack on its systems. Maybe we can open it together."

Kaidan summoned his omni-tool and they began to hack the computer. Wrex looked at their omni-tools and noticed something peculiar. They completed their hacking process and noticed Wrex's stare.

"What?"

"Why do you guys use two different hacking methods?"

"What do you mean?"

"You press a few buttons in syncrination on your omni-tool. Kaidan guides an arrow through a spinning circular maze to the center."

"Different settings, maybe?" Kaidan shrugged. He then turned to face the data on the console. "Oh, no."

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Zach asked.

"This information says the geth are preparing something in the Armstrong Cluster. That's close to the traverse."

"Copy this data and send it to Alliance Command. They need to be warned."

"Yes, sir." Kaidan grabbed a copy of the plans from the terminal and walked away with Wrex. The data troubled Zach. If the geth were preparing an offensive in the traverse, it would mean a war they could not win if the entire geth collective attacked.

Zach hoped that wasn't going to happen. For both sides.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I think my playing of ME3 is getting in the way of writing time. Or maybe the events before the thorian fight just bore me. Or maybe I'm just stuck at work a lot. Perhaps it's just all of the above. Anyways, I'm going to throw thorian and the revealing of the vorcha's name in the next chapter. I should have some time to write it because I will be at a camping trip this weekend for my dad. Today is his birthday so I will say happy birthday for anyone who decides to say so in the reviews/PMs.

Shoutouts to Bud89, Admiral Anderson, and firesprite1123 for just being ridiculously awesome! Anderson's story is reaching great heights with the action, so if you haven't checked it out, get on it soldier! He'll know I sent you. :-)


	33. Chapter 32: Why Zach Hates Turnips

Chapter 32: Why Zach Hates Turnips

Shuttle to Omega, 09:59 am

Approaching the Relay outside the Citadel

Zaeed looked through the datapad on the information of Rupert Crone, surprised by his background. Over one-hundred seventeen confirmed kills, and he possessed skills in biotics, tech, and a special blade-fighting style he himself had invented. Apparently, he also had plenty of cybernetic augmentations.

"It's probably best you chose me." Vica spoke as he sat across from the veteran mercenary.

"Why's that?"

"I've fought this son of a bitch before. Two years ago, I was sent on a classified assignment. Rupert ended up trying to stop me. I was chased through the jungle for a week before I reached my objective. I succeeded in the task, but I was gravely injured by the bastard. Had it not been for Vancar, I would've died."

"So you want to settle a score with him?"

"Just as you want to settle a score with Vido Santiago. If we find him where our intel says he is, I'll gladly help you obtain your revenge. After all, you chose me for this, and I want vengeance against Crone."

"I just might be starting to like you, batarian, Vica, whatever your name is."

Vica laughed. "You'll get my name eventually."

"So what's the rundown?"

Vica summoned his omni-tool. A holographic map appeared that showed a certain area of Omega Zaeed knew. It was an old miner's mess hall that had been closed down due to a murder. "Our meeting point should be something you remember. Rupert has been suspected to be hiding within the facility waiting for a chance to take Aria out. He's going to try sniping her first from the third floor. If that fails, he has six routes he can take to finish her off at close range. We need to intercept him before he can take the shot."

"He won't get a chance to react." Zaeed smiled, spinning a combat knife in his hands before he stabbed it into the floor.

Exogeni Headquarters Entrance, 10:00 am

Zach saw Lizbeth waving for them at the entrance that no longer was blocked by the forcefield. Remembering how she had lied about how much she knew about the thorian, Zach dropped his worried look of the geth terminal to a more serious look he possessed.

"Oh, thank God." Lizbeth spoke. "You took care of that forcefield. Now please, get me back to my mother. I'm worried about her."

"First things first." Zach interrupted. "You knew more about the thorian than you let on."

Lizbeth began to stumble on her words, but then gave in and spoke the truth. "They- they threatened me when I comfronted them. I had no other way of stopping them. They wanted me to watch the colonists for the duration of the experiment."

"Do you know where the thorian's entrance is?"

"It's underneath the colony. The colonists placed a large pipe over the entrance using a crane."

"But why would the geth be after the thorian?"

"It's a very old creature; probably older than the protheans. It could possess knowledge that even we don't know about. Perhaps the geth want to destroy the source of the knowledge so you can't stop them."

_"Normandy to shore party, come in." _Joker's voice came over the intercom. Zach raised his hand to his earpiece.

"What is it, Joker?"

_"The geth are sending more troops onto the skyway. You're gonna have a fight on your hands."_

"You heard the man. Let's move."

"I'm coming with you!" Lizbeth protested. "I might be able to help. Undo the mess I helped create." She walked towards the mako, making Zach shake his head.

"Be thankful that there is an extra seat in the mako. Kaidan, keep an eye on our guest. Wrex, get your trigger finger ready."

"Gladly." Wrex smiled.

"All right. Let's make sure the trip back is not as bumpy as last time."

"Amen to that!" Wrex ran towards the mako in an attempt to get to the gunner seat first before Lizbeth attempted to take it from him. Lizbeth jumped as he approached the door. "Little note for you, princess," He smirked. "the krogan always get the big guns."

Lizbeth stepped back as he entered the mako. Zach and Kaidan approached the vehicle and allowed Lizbeth to slide into the spare seat in the back. Kaidan followed after and Zach got back into the driver's seat. Driving the mako away from the building, he felt himself getting lost in his memories despite the fact he was focusing on combating the reappeared armatures and juggernauts. It was once the last foe fell that he knew his mind had wandered elsewhere completely...

_Belator outskirts, 08:45 am_

_Warrior Rock; April 21, 2177_

_Zach rubbed the back of his neck as he began his patrol with Red, Jess, and Toombs. The floor he slept on in his apartment space was not as comfortable as he had hoped. Jess and Toombs shared the only bed while Red took the only couch available. Jess had tried to get Red stuck with the floor, but Zach disagreed, turning down the offer to take the bed with Jess. Jess had tried to argue, but in the end, she had lost._

_Jess held an angry look on her face. It was either likely from Red or from his attitude towards her. He knew it was wrong to be ignoring her, but after what she had done to him all those years ago it was damn-near impossible for him to have a conversation with her. He didn't feel like he could trust her any longer since she did what she did._

_Did she know he knew of what had truly happened years ago?_

_"I walk a lonely road-" Red began._

_"Sing that song and I'm throwing you off a cliff." Jess snarled._

_Red stopped for a second. "Dun dun dun duh-da dun duh-da dum." The Imperial March rolled off of his tongue, raising tensions in their little group._

_"Damn it, Red!"_

_"What? You're going all Darth Vader on me, lassie."_

_"You're being disruptive. We need to focus on the patrol route. We don't need you singing your fucking head off."_

_"You can't sing your head off, lassie. Otherwise I would've lost my head ten years ago."_

_Jess tried to hit him, but he activated his camouflage system, disappearing before she could successfully knock him on his back._

_"This is kind of fun," Red laughed while incognito. "ten credits says Shep finds me before you do, lassie."_

_"Show yourself!" Jess began throwing biotic throws everywhere, but Red wasn't caught._

_Zach put out his hand, catching Red's helmet. The man lost his invisibilty. "Red, now's not the best time to piss her off. Wait until the afternoon when she is fully awake."_

_"Okay, Shep. You're the doc, doc." Red was released from Zach's grasp and he fixed his helmet. Zach moved on ahead, unaware that Jess had lost interest in scolding Red after he said she owed him ten credits and had caught up ahead of him._

_"I want answers, Zach. No bullshit, no excuses, just plain honesty."_

_Zach's words were a little harsher than he wanted. "I didn't think you knew the meaning to that word."_

_Jess got serious again. "What does that mean?"_

_"Think about it. It'll come to you."_

_"I don't know what you're talking about."_

_Zach was almost ready to say something even harsher, but he caught himself before he said it. "You weren't always honest with me in the past. Sometimes people have long, unforgiven memories."_

_"I don't remember a moment when I wasn't honest with you."_

_"Maybe not to my face, but then again, what's honesty without trust. For all I know, everything you've ever said to me may have been a lie."_

_"That's not fair, Zach."_

_"Oh, you got that right."_

_Somewhere behind them, Red and Toombs were examining their fellow comrades. They were confused about what they were talking about._

_"Any idea what they're arguing about, Armsby?" Toombs asked._

_"No idea, Shaggy." Red shrugged. "Shep had been trying to keep his distance from her ever since they were put in a squad together. All I've gathered is that their trust in each other is broken, and I guess he's trying to push her away."_

_"Why? Are they exes or something?"_

_"Something like that. Jess's dad had her taken away from Metropolis because he wasn't there to hide her and her biotic potential from the powerful businessman he was. They also thought the man staged an accident to give her her biotic potential."_

_"Damn. I can't believe any kind of father would do that to their children. Shepard's dad runs when his mother becomes pregnant. Jessica's dad pretty much throws her to the Ascension program once he knows his plot worked. They appeared to have so much in common back then. What changed?"_

_"A mystery!" Red immediately turned invisible._

_"Red, I don't think that's a good idea."_

_"Relax. I'll be fine." The infiltrator approached closer to listen in on their conversation._

_"Okay, Zach. I'll play along. Say I lied to you about everything I've ever told you. Does that mean that you do not possess the ability to read a report or that your favorite color's name is blue?"_

_"That's knowledge. It's not what I'm talking about. It's your social life."_

_"My social life?"_

_"Yes, your social life. You lied about someone you knew."_

_"What the hell are you talking about?"_

_"Don't lie to me, Jess. You've lied to me before. I don't need this now."_

_Suddenly, Jess turned around, overloading Red's shields and revealing his presence. She then glowed purple and threw the poor man back into Toombs._

_"Ouch!" Toombs exclaimed. "What the hell, Jess?! What did I do to get Red to tackle me?!"_

_"Quit eavesdropping, snoops." Jess turned back around to see Zach had walked up ahead of her, watching for any colonist activity. Ignoring the complaining soldiers behind her, she took the time to process the information from their conversation. He said something about lying about someone she knew. What did he mean by that?_

He couldn't possibly mean-_ Jess stopped all together. _Oh, no. No, no, no. There was no way he knew about that. If he knew about that, then that means-

_"Jess?" Toombs' voice broke her from her thoughts, startling her. "You okay? You kind of stopped walking."_

_"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." Jess lied. In truth, she was unnerved by this situation. If Zach had known all along about her most dangerous secret, then there was no way he could forgive her. That was a reasonable explanation towards his behavior._

_But if she told him the whole truth, would his attitude change?_

_On one hand, it could bring back the person she cared about within him if she had told him about what had hurt her the most. However, at the same time it could put him in a more angry state. It was bad enough that whole thing had happened, but would Zach ever accept the truth and accept her for who she was?_

_"Let's go, Toombs." She shook it off. "We need to find those colonists."_

"That's my mom! Stop! Stop the rover!" Lizbeth's yelling snapped him back into reality as he stopped the mako at the passageway to the enclave where the Exogeni employees hid. Lizbeth hopped out of the other door, making Wrex chase after her.

"Lizbeth!" Zach shouted as he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the other door to the mako. Kaidan followed him out and they ran to catch up with the worried employee.

"You can't do this, Jeong!" Juliana yelled loud enough for the four of them to hear.

"Everybody shut up!" Jeong yelled frantically. "Let me think!"

"What's going on?" Lizbeth whispered towards Zach.

"You won't get away with this!" Juliana shouted.

"Get her out of here!" Jeong ordered as a guard attempted to apprehend her.

Lizbeth stood up; an angry look on his face. "Get away from her, you son of a bitch!" She ran out before Zach could stop her.

"Lizbeth!" Juliana ran to her daughter, pissing off Jeong.

"D-d-dammit! Co-Come out where I can see you! All of you!"

Zach and his crew came out with the angriest looks on their faces; each of them disapproving of Jeong's power trip.

"Shepard. I knew it was too much to hope the geth would kill you. I found some interesting facts of you on Akuze! This doesn't have to get messy!"

_You know _nothing _of Akuze. _He thought to himself before speaking out against the businessman. "What the hell are you doing, Jeong?!"

"Communications are back up. Exogeni wants this place purged!"

"This is a human colony, Jeong!" Lizbeth argued. "You can't just process us!"

"It's not just you! There are things more valuable here than a human colony!"

"Are you going to tell them about the thorian, or should I?" Zach threatened.

"The what?" Juliana asked.

"The thorian is an indigenous life form." Lizbeth answered. "It's underneath Zhu's Hope and is controlling the colonists. Exogeni knew about it all along!"

Juliana turned towards Jeong. "You won't get away with this, Jeong!"

"So you keep saying," Jeong bragged. "but nobody's gonna miss a few colonists!"

Zach became angry at the businessman. Only a corporate jackass would not care about the loss of human life. "You're a beam counter, Jeong. I'm a spectre. Tell me, how good are those odds?"

Jeong scoffed. "There are no human spectres." But then his look changed from defiance to worry. "Right?"

"Do you really want to take that chance?" Lizbeth asked with confidence, unnerving the man even more.

"Look, Exogeni has explicit orders for us to take out the colony so the Thorian can be studied."

"Tell him the thorian's dead. That thing is too dangerous to be kept alive." Zach commanded.

"Look, that's not the way it works. The colony is defending the thorian now. It's likely controlling them all."

"There has to be another way." Lizbeth complained.

Juliana rubbed her chin before her eyes lit up with an idea. "I think there is. Commander, you could try to use a nerve toxin to paralyze the colonists. The pesticides we use contains a chemical that can cause neuro-paralysis."

"Unleashing clouds of nerve gas doesn't seem like a good idea."

"It's not like it's military grade. If the colonists' immune systems are already weakened, then the gas should work effectively on them."

"If we must consider it," Wrex spoke. "drop it in a concussion grenade."

"Sounds good. I'll give it a shot." Zach agreed.

"Excellent. Hopefully, this will give you a shot at saving the colony." Juliana handed him the gas grenade formula. He immediately updated his grenades to work with the toxin instead of the high-range explosive he goes for whenever he tries to use grenades.

"Wrex, remind me to reprogram my grenades for the high-explosive I normally go for once this is over."

"Will do." Wrex laughed.

"All right. Let's get to work." Zach headed off to Gavin Hossle, remembering he retrieved the data.

"Any luck finding my research station, Commander?" The man asked.

"I found the schematics you wanted." Zach handed him the OSD.

"Thank you, Commander. This will help me a great deal."

"I was in the building, anyway. It was too easy to find."

"I appreciate your help. Here, for your trouble, Commander." Hossle handed him a large sum of credits. Zach nodded and headed back to the mako with his friends.

Approaching the Zakera Ward docks,10:07 am

Onboard the Citadel

Ethan and Shawn were in Ethan's black skycar flying back to the docks. While they had the day off today, Ethan preferred the docks to study instead of their apartment due to Shawn's continuous playing of Comatose, a role-playing horror/shooter designed by salarian game designers that included research by the salarian government on the brain activity of patients of all species within a coma. Shawn liked to play as a krogan named Ni who ended up in a coma due to a tank landing on top of him. The krogan voice actor was very funny at times when he yelled how a demon was coming towards him. Whenever Ethan had a chance, he played as a turian he named Ethos. He randomly got hit by a passing skycar that was lower than the required altitude.

"Why is it I have to come with you so you could study?" Shawn complained.

"Because I need you to study yourself. I don't want you working for mom for the rest of either of your lives. You need to get yourself a better education."

"What's wrong with the education I already have?"

"It's not advanced enough for a job beyond here."

"So?"

"So, you need to start planning for the future. We're not always going to be living under the same roof and I can't always be there to get you out of trouble."

Ethan's omni-tool blinked, and he transferred the call to his dashboard with a command. The voice of their friend Tyler began to speak.

_"Ethan, Shawn, I've got something I want to show you, if Shawn can promise to keep his fingers off."_

"Do you seriously not trust me?" Shawn asked.

_"Things explode around you, Shawn. You can't blame me for being cautious. Bring a bottle of that- wait, it's still morning- bring some of that Voltage stuff you like, Ethan. This is something worth celebrating."_

"We'll get a bottle. We're headed to the docks right now. Where are you?"

_"Dock 343. See you soon. Tyler out."_ The transmission cut, making it eerily quiet in the car. Shawn summoned his omni-tool, and a very old song began to play.

"You did not." Ethan turned to face his brother until he heard the first lyrics.

'Oppa Gangnam Style!'

"Damn it!"

Approaching the Zhu's Hope colony, 10:20 am

Nearing the end of the Prothean Skyway

Zach brought the mako to a stop outside the door to the garage they left from. Likely knowing the colonist thralls, they would be expecting them after they finished up their work at Exogeni. He stepped out of the mako, allowing Wrex and Kaidan to follow after him. He circled around the vehicle only to find something peculiar in the way of the button.

Right underneath it was a strange green creature that had curled itself up in the way of the door controls. It began to stand, revealing human features and long talons for fingers. When it began to charge at them with an inhuman scream, the three of them shot it down. Zach turned around to face his team.

"What... is that?" Kaidan asked, puzzled and unnerved by the recent discovery. "Whatever that thing is, it ain't human, colonist or not."

"No hitting the colonists, even if they try to fire upon us. That's what the gas grenades are for." Zach cautioned.

"You got it, Commander."

Zach opened the door to the entrance and saw more of those creepers laying in their usual position. There were four colonists at the top, incuding Ian Newsstead, and some of the creepers were rising.

"You guys go for the creepers! I'll take care of the colonists!" Zach began to run for the top, ignoring the few creepers following him. Kaidan and Wrex began to take down one creeper at a time, punching any of them back as they attempted to vomit on them. Zach threw some grenades at the colonists, allowing the nerve toxin to disable them.

"Shepard, these things act like those blazer mutants you ran into on the SSV Fedele." Wrex observered as he fired his shotgun into one's head.

"Terrific! Stay away from their vomit!"

"No need to tell me twice!" Wrex hit another one away and Kaidan used a neural shock attack on another one. Zach came back with his rifle at hand, firing into the remaining creepers until they exploded.

"That was fun." Wrex laughed.

"Killing creepy plant zombies is fun to you?" Kaidan asked.

"It's better than sitting around with my thumb up my ass." Wrex shrugged. "Let's go."

"We have a colony to save." Zach agreed. They got onto the elevator, waiting patiently for the Prothean's faster elevator to bring them to the ground floor. Once they exited, there were more creepers waiting for them, as well as two colonists. Zach tossed a grenade in between them and allowed it to detonate, not only disabling the colonists but destroying the active thorian creepers.

"Well, now we know those gas grenades can cause some damage." Wrex smiled.

"Let's not be too wasteful of them, however." Zach warned. "I only carry so many." They ran down the stairs past the disabled bodies of the colonists and found themselves back to the colony itself; five colonists and quite a few creepers in the way. Wrex and Zach shot at a few before they prepared to toss grenades at the colonists. Kaidan lifted a few more creepers coming towards them and they hurled the two discs at the colonists, letting the gas disable more of them.

"Fuck off, grasshopper." A colonist with two pistols said as he got in the doorway, letting two bullets hit Zach's shields before he looked down, looked back up, and tossed a grenade at him. The grenade hit the old man in his shoulder, knocking him off his feet. "Jesus Christ!" was all he could reply before the toxin was released, knocking him unconcious.

"That was the funniest thing that has ever happened, Shepard." Wrex laughed.

"Only a few more colonists remain." Zach and the others ran out the door, careful not to step on the unconcious thrall. Zach jumped behind cover and gunned down a few thorian creepers, throwing a grenade to disable a woman and a salarian. Running towards the other side, he prepared two more grenades and finished off disabling the colonists, leaving a few stray creepers that died quickly.

"Commander, the controls are over there." Kaidan pointed at a set of controls. "Do you think you could figure out how to get them to work?"

"Should be simple enough." Zach ran off to the crane controls, pressing a few buttons and lifting up a large cylinder pipe, revealing the path to the thorian. With their work completed, Zach began to head towards the entrance before-

In an instant, he had turned around to see Fai Dan walking towards them. Zach's pistol was targeted at him, and the man seemed to have been trying to resist the thorian. "I tried to fight it, but it gets into your head. You can't imagine the pain." Fai Dan began to reach for his pistol. "I was supposed to be their leader. These people trusted me." Now his pistol was out, pointed in Zach's direction but shaking. "It wants me to- stop you, but I won't." The man dragged his pistol to his head with his head, screaming one more cry of defiance. "I _won't!_"

The sound of the gunshot echoed the silent sky.

Zakera Ward Medical Center, 10:27 am

Onboard the Citadel

Talitha chewed on a piece of bacon from her breakfast as she continued to practice her reading. The book she was reading was something about how an elf had gotten pregnant with some king's baby because they used to be together but not anymore. Apparently, they also had to stop a nobleman from revealing that, and it was supposed to have many funny things in it. It was written by the youngest brother of Zach Moore, Xavier, but it wasn't as famous due to its length being shorter and for it being more of a book for humans. Talitha figured it was good practice for Zach's story later.

The story, however, did make her think about her future. Once she integrated into society as a normally-functioning person again, what would she want to do? Did she want to explore her artistic skills more? Would she want to get married and have kids? Would she remain near Henry for the rest of her life?

The questions just couldn't leave her head for a bit, so the voice returned inside her.

_Henry's presense in your life is not meant to last forever._

_Why do you say that?_

_Henry's job and his sins are bound to catch up with him. His enemies cannot lose forever._

_Henry's stronger than you think. He could take out anybody who would ever threaten us._

_Henry is only human. And his spirit was wounded with our loss and our family. His hatred can only sustain him for so long._

_He loves us. That should help him._

_Perhaps. But Henry cannot live with us forever. The day will come where we will have to defend ourselves without Henry to protect us. It is after that day that our Guardian will truly connect to us._

_I want to talk about him; our Guardian. Do you know who he is?_

_Not by name, but we shall know by the feeling._

_Will we ever meet him before we feel that feeling?_

_Perhaps. The feeling that comes to all Irises and Guardians is when the feeling of a single crush transends to a feeling of serenity in a moment of sadness. It is normally these moments that define an Iris's love for a Guardian and a Guardian's love for an Iris. That is what The Stranger has written._

_What do you know about The Stranger? You said he talked to you when you were waiting for a moment to strike against our master._

_He is beyond definition. The best way to describe him is to say he's a god. But he doesn't accept that title. Because gods... don't create demons._

"What does that mean?" Talitha ended up speaking aloud, completely alone in her hospital room. Even the voice had subsided after their little chat. Talitha dropped her arms onto her covers, relaxing after working her mind off a lot. Reading was still a challenge, but she had vowed she would be able to read that story one day.

One day.

Descending underneath the Zhu's Hope colony, Zach, Wrex, and Kaidan contemplated the dire results of their assault on the colony. They were able to save the colonists, but Fai Dan sacrificed himself to allow them to stop the thorian. Without leadership, the colonists may end up being lost when they woke up. But that was something they could work on later. The thorian was their only concern now.

"Okay, people." Kaidan broke the silence. "By the numbers. We just need to find... find... what is that thing?"

In front of them was a giant, turnip-like alien hanging off of a bunch of tendons that stretched into the walls. There were large tentacles in a mouth area which was drooling. Its eyes were scanning the new enemy that had defeated its thralls.

"Nothing's ever simple, is it?" Zach complained as he brought himself closer to the thorian. It raised its ugly head as it appeared to begin to vomit out something. A green asari fell out of the thorian's mouth, unaware of the drool over her body. She wore a combat suit and had a shotgun strapped to the back of her belt.

"Malzotov, it's a girl." Kaidan joked.

"Invaders," the asari spoke. "you have encroached on the territory of the thorian. Gaze as its might, as it will consume all."

"You gave something to Saren; something I need." Zach began.

"Saren sought the knowledge of those that came before. We offered this knowledge in trade for the body you see before you; a perfect copy of a servant he traded. Then cold ones began to kill those who would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given. We shall listen no more to fleshie things. Leave now or suffer."

"I don't argue with plants!" Zach argued. "Give me what I want now!"

"The thorian is a part of this world. You could no more kill it than cut the sky." The asari pulled out her shotgun. "Your flesh will feed the new-"

Wrex threw her with a hard biotic throw, throwing her off the edge. "Shut up, bitch!"

"Holy crap, Wrex!" Kaidan exclaimed.

"This is why I'm a badass!" Wrex bragged. Then they turned towards the thorian creepers behind them. Zach pulled off his shotgun and began mauling through the other ones before he saw something peculiar. Within a doorway, he saw a large bundled tendral hovering above the door. Zach ran towards the door and began to shoot at the tendral.

"Hold off the creepers until this thing goes down!" Kaidan and Wrex ran over and held off the few creepers coming towards them until the tendral exploded. The thorian screamed from its throat.

"That hurt it. I can tell." Wrex laughed. "A few more of those and it's in trouble."

The three of them ran up to the second tendral before they ran into another problem. A second asari clone appeared before them with a score of thorian creepers.

"Not this chick again." Zach complained, tossing a grenade to remove the creepers.

"Round two, bitch!" Wrex roared as he slammed his entire body into her, knocking her into a wall. He fired his shotgun into her and killed the new clone. Zach aimed at the second tendral and unleashed a carnage into it, continuing his barrage of gunfire until it exploded. The thorian let out another shriek.

"Let's make this quick! Leave nothing standing!" Zach chucked another grenade to the groups of thorian creepers, eliminating most of them with the sheer force of the anti-thorian gas. The three alternated between firing at the tendrals to firing at the thorian's servants. Some were even thrown off of the edge as they carved through the resistance and weakened the thorian. They were all getting tired, but they pressed on. By the time there were two nodes left, Zach had only one grenade left.

"Just a few more, and we should be in the clear." Kaidan assured.

"I hope so. These things just don't seem to quit." Zach took in a breath. He switched to his rifle to hold off the stairwell they were at. Another force has come to stop them, and they had to hold their ground for a minute before continuing. Once they were cleared, they reached the second-to-last node and pummeled it with bullets and slugs, causing massive damage to the thorian. It's screams had become louder each time a node was taken out.

"We must be almost finished." Wrex bellowed. "Let's knock this vegetable into the ground."

Zach ran towards the next doorway to the final doorway only to be stopped by a large group of creepers and another asari clone. Zach threw his last grenade and eliminated most of the creepers. The asari began to retreat.

"Where do you think you're going, Princess?!" Wrex pulled the asari into the air, letting out his carnage ability to defeat her. He then began to focus on the scattered creepers to give Zach time to finish off the thorian. Zach activated his overkill ability to give his rifle more damage and managed to implode the final node, letting out one final scream from the thorian.

The tentacles that held the thorian up began to pull themselves out of the wall where they were shot from. The body began to fall closer to the dark ground below. After a few more seconds, the thorian fell, dying as it hit the ground.

"Well, Wrex, the crash still came, didn't it?" Zach smiled as he looked down the hole.

Wrex laughed. "My badassery level has just been raised."

"Commander," Kaidan interrupted as they turned to face him. Kaidan was looking at a strange sack-like coccoon on the wall. It split open slowly, and a blue version of the asari they continued to fight fell out.

"Should we shoot her?" Wrex whispered.

"Not yet. She may not be hostile." Zach cautioned. The asari stood up from her position on the floor.

"I'm free!" The asari exclaimed. "I- I guess that I should thank you for saving me. I'm Shi'ala. I serve- I served Matriarch Benezia until Saren offered me to the thorian to get the cipher. He hoped that destroying the thorian would prevent you from stopping him."

"Saren is easy to betray his followers, but what is Benezia doing with him, and what's the cipher?"

"Benezia had tried to pull Saren away from his path of destruction. Instead, Saren had manipulated her and her followers to work for him."

"Typical asari meddling." Wrex commented. "About time it bit them in the ass."

"Asari matriarches are some of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. How could Saren control them all?"

Shi'ala continued. "It's his ship: Sovereign. It is a powerful dreadnought that possesses his ability to influence Saren's followers to obey his will. After days the effects are irreversible but subtle as well. The more time onboard the ship, the more control you lose."

"And the cipher? What is it?"

"Knowledge. It is impossible to describe. However, I can transfer the information from my mind to yours. Saren knows you are searching for the conduit, and after betraying me and leaving me with the thorian, I am willing to grant you that information."

"Then let's get this over with." Zach stepped closer to her.

"Try to relax, Commander." Shi'ala spoke softly. "Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out to the threads that bind us one to another. Every action sends ripples through the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to exist. We are all connected. Every being living together in one glorified existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander. _Embrace eternity!_"

The asari's eyes went black, and Zach's mind rushed with images of the Prothean extinction; the images more clear than before and _far more _intense. The final image was of a planet eclipsed of light as it descended into the dark, showing a red machine in a menacing position; its shape that of a squid and the size of the Citadel Tower, and black shadows surrounded it, terrifying his visions even more.

Suddenly, it was over. Zach opened his eyes and looked at the asari in front of him. She looked a little queasy, and Zach had felt a little unsettled, too.

"What just happened?" Kaidan asked. "Are you okay?"

"I saw... something." Zach answered, grabbing his head. "It still didn't make any sense."

"I am sorry if you have suffered." Shi'ala spoke. "You needed the Cipher. In time, your mind will settle with the Cipher, and your visions will be easier to understand."

"We should get you back to the ship, Commander. You look a little pale." Kaidan spoke worried.

"Now that you're free of the thorian, Shi'ala, what do you plan on doing from here?"

"If you allow it, I would like to stay with the colonists." Shi'ala suggested. "They have suffered greatly, and I played a role in their suffering. I would like to make amends."

"The colonists will need all the help they can get." Zach nodded. "They'll be glad for your support."

"Thank you, Commander." Shi'ala bowed. "May fortune smile upon you."

Zach gave one final approving nod to her before he and his band turned to head back to the ship.

Intai'sei Calypso Base, 10:45 am

Within the Training Arena

Ayala watched from the podium as the vorcha stepped into the arena. Around him were LOKI mechs that were meant to train him for Calypso's Hydra division; the heavy hitters within the army. Her mind wandered towards the conversation they had when Chronicler had finished his testing. His knowledge on gods was strange, but the fact that he could propose such a force existed bugged her. Then her thoughts trailed towards his mentioning of how she was something he called a var'koten. A woman warrior who earned her beauty through her scars. How such an ugly creature could call her beautiful because of her scars hidden away from her peers both physically and emotionally was astounding to her.

She hadn't really looked at her scars in a long time.

The thought of even looking at her body again after all of the damage caused to it made her uneasy. It was why she never looked at herself in a mirror anymore. She was afraid of the scars; haunted by the act that that damn krogan did. She's kept her distance from people who would've found her attractive in fear they would reject her after seeing the scars. Yet an ugly creature called her the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

_I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. _Ayala thought. _He's not _that _ugly. And it appears his heart's in the right place. Maybe his whole talk about gods is annoying, but it does sort of add to his character._

Ayala watched as The Stranger came upon the field. He was dressed in a special battle armor he designed more for sword combat with a helm based off of the Hero of Elysium's legendary helmet design covering his face. It was always something he did; hiding his face. It emphasized his title.

_"Noble Vanguard, you have one final test. You must prove yourself willing of your title to the audience before you." _Ayala watched as the vorcha looked around the room of guests. Some were people Ayala knew; others were more secretive members. The Stranger held out a geth pulse rifle to the vorcha. _"Shoot all of the mechs before they fire upon us."_

The LOKI mechs raised their guns up as the vorcha grasped the gun around the handle. Ayala watched as his eyes scan the area. Then they look at her, and their eyes lock for only a second. His eyes are filled with confidence, but of what seemed to be hidden.

"I shall prove my title, master, but know you all shall call me by my name." Suddenly, he leaped into the air, spinning around as his rifle fired into the mechs around them at blazing speeds. Within a few seconds, the fourteen mechs surrounding them were on the ground; nothing but broken toys now. "You shall call me Malevolence."

The Stranger clapped as the others cheered at the new member of Calypso. Malevolence bowed to The Stranger, proud to serve the great Synthai as he prepares the entire galaxy for the Reapers' return.

And as long as he protects his violet, he shall be vigilant in the fight.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Now, you guys are going to find this funny. I got 80% of the story done over the weekend I had at camp. And then, I returned home to continue playing games. The result is I got to see all the Citadel DLC had to offer. The funniest thing that happened had to have been Zach Shepard's clone's armor swap. I wore the traditional Zach Shepard white and blue like his Explorer armor, and the clone ended up wearing the default armor color.

My reaction: "This guy is _definitely _not like the real Shepard."

I also finally watched the Tali'Zorah romance scene and I have to say, I did kind of enjoy it. However, I have plans to expand upon it. I won't say how but I will say it may involve a musical track I plan to add to the story and it involves Shepard singing to Tali while playing the piano.

Anyways, I hope Bud89 enjoyed the introduction of his character's true name he had before he changed it to Grim Reaper. If he has any more suggestions for his character development he can contact me about it. As for the rest of you guys, if you don't have an xbox but would love to have a multiplayer character of any sort enter the story for the hell of it, don't hesitate to send a message any time. And if you wish to have these characters introduced after Resolution either state around which game you wish to see them or wait until I get to work on the other stories.

Shoutouts to my usual techies! I need to head off to bed to go to work in the morning! See ya!


	34. Chapter 33: Jealousy

Chapter 33: Jealousy

Citadel Docks, 11:00 am

Within Ethan's and Shawn's skycar

"So, Ethan, what do you think Tyler wants to show us?" Shawn asked as he held onto the bottle of Voltage.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it must be important." Ethan parked the skycar in front of the entrance to dock 343, shutting off the engine when they landed. He took the bottle of Voltage from Shawn and exited the vehicle.

"Ten credits says he finally built a machine that could make him more normal." Shawn smiled, knowing of Tyler's strange interest in the delusional and paranoid.

"I'll match it with the bet that it's another strange contraption of his." Ethan agreed. He opened the door to the garage portion, entering to the sounds of tools and the Solar Dream 2 soundtrack. Despite the fact Clint Mansell assisted with the Solar Dream 3 soundtrack over a hundred years ago, Ethan had always preferred the second game's soundtrack.

"Damn this infernal welder!" Tyler screamed as it died, granting him a second to see his guests had arrived. "Oh, hello there, Ethan. Shawn."

"What's up, Professor?" Shawn waved, stating the nickname he gave him over his crazy schemes and inventions.

"I've created only the greatest project of human ingenuity in existence. I decided to choose you two as the first people I would reveal it to."

"Is that what you're working on now?"

"No, a Lieutenant Starr wanted me to work on his F-51 Trident. Apparently, it's the same vehicle that destroyed the Disruptor during the attack on Elysium."

"You're fixing the same Trident that won the space battle above Elysium?" Ethan asked.

"Random, but welcome." Tyler jumped down from his post, removing his gloves and welding mask. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. "Right this way."

Ethan and Shawn walked with Tyler over to a panel on the wall. Tyler swiped his omni-tool over it, and it opened the door. Inside was a very large tank. It was in the shape of an M-29 Grizzly but twice its size. There were twice as many wheels and the gun looked twice as powerful. No demonstration was needed for the gun to prove that, given the giant hole where the gun was pointing.

"By the power of Gray Skull!" Shawn exclaimed slowly.

"It looks like an M-29 Grizzly." Ethan pointed out.

Tyler nodded. "It's an advanced model I've been working on for months. It's got twice the size, twice the wheels, twice the speed, and twice the firepower. This baby can puncture a hole in a turian frigate with its combination of tungsten slugs and high-explosive compounds built within. It can carry up to twelve occupants in the seats within the vehicle, and about five more people standing up. It can take up to speeds of a hundred-and-fifty miles per hour on flat terrain. And it's stocked with spare weapons and grenades within; plenty of assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, shotguns, and rocket launchers packed within. It also uses a prototype armor technology to take heavier slugs breaching the hull. I call it the Warthog-Slayer."

"Why's that?" Shawn asked.

"Because them damn pigs are a menace when they get into a fight."

"Did you get hit by a warthog before?"

"No." Tyler went silent. "Yes."

"See. Admitting what happened is the first step to recovery."

"Shut up, Shawn!"

"Shut up, Shawn." Ethan shoved his brother playfully, knowing that he couldn't pick on his brother all of the time. "Where did you get all of the parts for this thing?"

"I got them from the French."

"The French?"

"Yes, the French. One last thing." Tyler raised his omni-tool. "I'm sharing the self-destruct code with you guys. And Shawn, if you even attempt to say the code out loud, I will hit you with a neural shock attack and watch Miss Universe while you drool on my garage floor."

"Why must you always show no faith in me? Why?" Shawn raised his hands in the air, looking at the ceiling in annoyance.

Ethan looked at the code. "Why are you sharing this with us?"

"Because I find you to be trustworthy of this secret. I will eventually send the schematics to the Alliance, the Turian Heirarchy, and perhaps even Calypso later. But for now, I can only trust you to safeguard this in case some batarian terrorist attempts to steal the prototype. And while Shawn may be touched in the head, he's smart enough to know that if he blabs about this I will use neural shock on him."

"Right. Plus, he knows Mom gave me permission to smack his head if he does something idiotic, but I haven't come across a scenario where I need to do that."

"Ooh, what's this?" Shawn ran towards a helmet that appeared to have electricity flowing around it.

"No!" Tyler ran towards him to stop him. "That's not for touching. It's a side project. Leave it alone."

Shawn looked at the helmet and lifted his finger; a look of defiance on his face.

"Shawn..." Tyler growled, lifting his omni-tool.

Shawn brought his finger closer to the helmet before Tyler launched a neural shock attack at him, knocking him unconscious.

"I warned you."

"He's gonna be all right, yes?" Ethan asked, a worried look on his face. "While he's a pain, I still don't want him to die on me."

"He'll come to in about an hour or so. Come on. Let's put him on the lounge couch and celebrate my triumph over my creation." Tyler put Shawn over his shoulder, carrying him into his office. Ethan followed.

"What is that helmet supposed to do, anyway?" Ethan asked.

"You'll see eventually." Was all Tyler replied.

SSV Normandy, 11:04 am

Zach rubbed his neck as he took his seat next to Kaidan in the comm room. The Cipher's transfer was giving him a major headache, and it was really bothering him. Liara noticed his problem, and attempted to be sympathetic.

"Commander, you look pale. Are you feeling any ill effects from the cipher?"

Zach faced her; an annoyed look on his face. "My brain's been scrambled like an egg! How do you think I feel?!"

"I may be able to help you. The cipher may have made your visions more clear for you now. I may be able to help you make sense of them."

Zach shook his head. "That sounds insane! Why would I agree to something like that?"

"My knowledge of the protheans may help to discover where Saren is heading towards. We have no other options."

Zach sighed. "I guess I have no choice. Do it."

Liara and Zach stood up and headed to the center of the room. Liara blinked her eyes. "Relax, Commander." Zach closed his eyes. "Embrace eternity!"

The visions flashed through both of their minds; each image more clear than before. The same images from the transfer of the Cipher came up into Liara's mind, and she was caught off guard by the intensity of the visions.

Garrus could feel a rush of jealousy run through his veins. The girl he wanted to date was mind-probing his best friend. If there was any clear violation of the bro-code, it would be this moment. However, he didn't really need to feel jealous because Shepard wasn't interested in Liara. Maybe it was because she connected to Shepard's mind before his own.

"Incredible. I never expected the visions to be so... intense. I am amazed you could make any sense of it at all. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander. What you have been through; what you have seen would've destroyed a lesser mind."

"Come on, get to the point." Ashley interrupted. "What did you see?"

"The visions you received on Eden Prime were incomplete. Half of the information is missing. If we could find another beacon we could probably fill in the missing parts of your vision. Saren may have also found another beacon. If we could find Saren, we may find-" Liara placed her hand on her head, groaning. "I am sorry. The joining is exhausting. I should go to the medical bay and lie down."

"Are you sure it was the joining?" Zach asked. "I feel fine."

"Your part in the joining is passive. I'm the one who has to enter your mind and sift through all your thoughts. Your strong will also makes it more difficult. I'll be better after some rest."

"We're done here. Dismissed." Zach watched as the crew began to walk away.

_"Feros reports are filed, Commander." _Joker's voice picked up on the intercom. _"Do you want me to patch you through to the council?"_

"Patch them through, Joker."

_"Setting up the link, now."_

The holograms appeared moments later of the councillors, each capturing the features of the respected councillor. _"Commander," _the asari councillor began_. "Exogeni should've told us about the thorian. It would've made your job a whole lot easier."_

_"You might've been able to capture it for study." _The salarian councillor noted.

Zach disagreed. "The thorian liked to enslave minds. Anybody who likely tried to study it may have ended up one of its thralls."

_"Perhaps it is for the best then." _The asari councillor agreed. _"At least the colony was saved."_

_"Of course it was saved!" _The turian councillor snapped. _"Shepard would go to any lengths to save a _human _colony."_

Zach glared. "And if it had been a _turian _colony they would all still be breathing just the same. The truth is I help anyone in trouble. Ask Ambassador Knakvar about his visit to Earth twelve years ago."

_"Knakvar? The ambassador who was saved by a boy from the slums of Earth during a xenophobic terrorist attack on a peaceful negotiations meeting involving our governments? Are you saying that was you?"_

"The one and only. Take that into consideration next time you attempt to make a comment towards me that says humanity will always be first on my agenda."

The turian councillor nodded. _"We'll be waiting for your next report and we will contact you should the need arise." _The holograms disappeared, and Zach began to exit the comm room, needing some medicine for his headache. Wrex walked back in with a new grenade upgrade.

"Shepard, you asked me to remind you to switch around your grenade explosive to something explosive. I got you the high-explosive upgrade. Very useful to use against the enemy. I'm sure you'll love it."

"Thanks, Wrex." Zach took the upgrade. "Can I ask you of another favor?"

"Is it a big or small one?"

"It's rather simple. I plan on making a stop at Arcturus Station soon, and I plan on getting some of the spectres' greatest weapons available. I plan on getting Colossus armor sets for you, Tali, Garrus, and Liara. Could you ask Tali for her suit measurements?"

"Why can't you do it?"

"I have a strange feeling that Ashley may try something if I inquire of Tali about it. Kaidan has been pointing out strange behavior of her and it seems to be focused towards Tali."

"I know. I've seen some of it, too. I'll be sure to ask Tali discreetly."

"Most krogan don't really know the meaning of the word discreet."

"That's only when we fight. We can keep secrets for hundreds of years before telling either the descendent of said person we were keeping the secret from or even the person themselves, granted they are an asari or krogan."

"Okay. I'll let Liara and Garrus know about it. Also, I think I might come soon to see how you're training with Tali is going. It would be interesting to see a quarian to fight with krogan tactics."

Wrex laughed. "I'll even let her kick your ass if you want. She's a natural with my teachings. She catches on pretty quick."

"Maybe I'll humor you, Wrex. I'll be down soon."

"I'll catch you then." Wrex walked out, heading back down to the cargo bay. Zach had slowly followed after, heading off to the med bay. Dr. Chakwas looked up from her small desk as he approached.

"Shepard, is there something you need?"

"Got anything for a headache?"

"I have some aspirin you could take. Liara told me something about you two joining minds, and I assumed that Garrus followed her into her office because he was worried for her."

"More likely he was trying to explain his jealousy. I'm surprised, however, you let him out early."

"I didn't."

"Well, I'll let them chat for a bit before I let them know of my plans for the new gear."

Inside Liara's office, Garrus paced back and forth. "I just feel awkward. I was hoping that you would stay out of my friend's head, Liara."

"I needed to help him understand the visions. I didn't see anything else in his mind. You have no reason to be jealous."

Garrus stopped, exhaling. "You're right. It's just harder to deal with than I wished. I mean, Shepard obviously doesn't want to be romantically involved with you; which don't tell him I said this, but I think he wants something with Tali. But if he actually did, that'd be a violation of the bro code."

"The bro code?"

"It's some human thing which pretty much says that thou shalt not steal a friend's crush or date their sister behind their back. Bros before hoes and all these other commandments. It's only for guys, hence it being called the bro code."

"And you and Shepard are close enough to be considered 'bros?'"

"Absolutely! Our talks on calibrations, past memories, and his guidance make us the perfect teammates and friends. We're definitely close enough to be bros."

"Look Garrus, I get where you're going with this. But I don't want to get inside your head until I know I'm ready for a relationship with you. I can't really function in society because of my isolation, and I don't really want to look like a fool."

"So you think you're a fool?"

"What? No! That's not what I- I mean it's just- well, I'm not used to dealing with other people. Did I say that right?"

Garrus laughed. "Calm down, Liara. I was only joking."

"Joking? Oh, by the Goddess! How could I be so dense?!"

"Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it eventually." Garrus opened the door to see Shepard and Chakwas staring at them. "What?"

"I was just waiting on you guys to finish up. I'll need for you guys to compile your measurements so I can get you guys the best armor to protect you."

"Wait a minute, you're buying me a suit?" Liara asked, coming closer to the door.

"Yes. I'm getting Colossus armor sets for you, Garrus, Tali, and Wrex."

"Colossus?" Garrus looked at his friend with a look of awe.

"I'm also getting us all spectre grade weapons for the missions. I need the best equipment to take on Saren."

"Shepard, this sounds like that one holiday you celebrate on Earth. Christmas?"

"It could also be your birthday."

"Then that's the best birthday present you could give us! I'll send you the information soon."

"All right. Let me accompany you to the cargo hold, Garrus."

Down in the cargo hold, Tali was exiting the engine room. She had talked quickly to Engineer Adams about the shielding of the Normandy, and they had agreed that they needed to be tuned up a bit. Wrex approached her with his usual krogan grin.

"Tali, we need to talk business for a second." Wrex pulled her into a corner and began to whisper. "Shepard is making plans to buy the Colossus armor sets for you, Garrus, Liara, and I. He needs your suit measurements."

"Why does he need those?" Tali shrugged her shoulders.

"He considers it an extremely necessary upgrade. The Alliance has access to some of the best equipment credits can buy. He obviously wants to protect us all from the possibility of dying."

"If he wanted to get my measurements, why didn't he ask me?"

"He's concerned about Ashley's attitude towards you if she saw him asking you. Apparently, he's guessing she has something against you. I'm in his camp on that."

"Okay. I'll send him what he needs later after dinner."

"Good. Now, Shepard said something about checking out how training you has been going." Wrex began to speak louder as Zach and Garrus exited the elevator. "About time you got down here, Shepard." He laughed. "I did not want to train her without an audience today."

"I wasn't going to go against my word." Zach smiled.

"Well you're just in time for seeing Tali prepare to headbutt an attacker." Wrex brought them over to the mako to begin his demonstration. "Now Tali, when an attacker has a grip on both of your hands, you need to use your head for an attack. Those little point-like things on your mask could do some damage if you hit the enemy so precisely on their face."

"Really?" Tali asked. "I've never thought of using my mask for that. But what if an attacker attempted to smash my glass open on my mask?"

"I've been working on a special mask design that could guard your glass mask while giving your eyes enough room to see. If you don't want that, we could always look for other alternatives to protect your face."

"The Alliance might have some special design for glass we could use for your mask." Zach pitched in. "If you want, I could try to ask them when we get to Arcturus Station."

Tali began to blush behind her mask. "I think that would be very appreciated, Shepard."

"Damn it!" Ashley screamed from the armory as guns and parts fell to the floor.

"Ashley, what the hell are you doing over there?" Garrus yelled.

"I burned myself with one of my tools!" That was half-true, as she was listening in to their conversation as one of her tools was running. It caused a burn on her hands.

"Head to the medical bay and have Doctor Chakwas patch you up." Zach ordered. He saw Ashley walk over there pouting. It was sort of funny to him. She never seemed like the kind of girl to pout.

"Now, if we could get back to class." Wrex continued. "Garrus, you're going to be Tali's attacker. Take ahold of her hands."

"One second." Garrus ran behind the mako, coming back with a helmet on.

"What the hell are you doing with a helmet?!"

"You said her mask could be used as a weapon. I'm protecting myself."

"Where did you even pull that out from?" Zach asked.

"I always leave my helmet lying around." He had his hands out in a grabbing position. "Okay, Tali. I promise I'll be gentle."

Tali took his hands and he felt him grip tightly.

"Okay, Tali." Wrex spoke. "When an enemy has hold of your fists, he'll attempt to force you down. Giving him a headbutt will stun him, giving you a chance to escape or to knock him down."

Tali immediately felt Garrus pushing down, nearly making her fall to the floor. She used her legs to hold her up, trying to push back from Garrus's weight. Zach couldn't help but admit to himself that the way Tali's legs curved attracted him, but he didn't plan on saying that out loud in front of everybody. He'd be caught dead before the requisitions officer started spreading the news that he thought Tali's legs were spectacular.

_Stop thinking about it, or it'll come to life._ Zach dropped his thoughts after that.

A second after that, Tali brought her head back and lunged it at Garrus's face, knocking him back. From Garrus's cry, Tali had placed plenty of force behind it that he was grasping his face through his helmet. Tali smiled behind her helmet. A turian C-Sec officer was complaining about her hitting his face. If anybody from the group had heard about this, Garrus would never hear the end of it.

"Impressive." Wrex nodded. "Most impressive. That means Tali has bragging rights that she made you cry on her first try."

"Sod... off... you... red... lizard." Garrus snarled between attempting to take off his helmet and rubbing his face.

"Is that all you got?" Wrex joked. "Pathetic little pyjak."

"Typical C-Sec reject." Tali insulted jokingly.

"Jurrasic Park reject." Zach joked with them.

"Wrex's insult was typical." Garrus continued without interruption. "Tali's wasn't that great. But Shepard's insult takes the cake."

"I try." Zach smirked. "Wrex, do you mind if I show Tali one of my own tricks?"

"Go ahead. It'd be interesting to see what you have to offer." Wrex smiled.

"Okay, Tali. I'm going to show you a trick I picked up growing up. In a fistfight, there will always be someone attempting to get the upper hand. If you were to continue from that headbutt or even just punching them in the stomach, then you could go for their legs. If you move fast enough, you can swing behind them and knock them off their feet. Go ahead and try it on me."

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't. Just jab me as hard as you can in the stomach. Then take out my legs from beneath me. It'll be all right."

"I don't know..."

"Tali, I trust you. I know you won't hurt me that much. Just place enough force in to make me catch my breath or something. I'll be fine."

Tali nodded. "Okay." She pulled her arm back and thrusted it at Zach's stomach.

Zach didn't even move.

"You're holding back, Tali."

"It's just- I don't want to hurt you."

"Tali, I've fought against raiders, pirates, gangs on Earth, and Stark using just my fists. And all of them combined can hurt me a lot more that you can. I've dealt with pain before. I can deal with what you throw at me."

With those words and the smile Zach was pulling off, Tali took a breath and did as he asked. She placed more force into her punch, even knocking him back a bit. Without any thought, she immediately crouched to the ground, stuck her left leg out, and brought Zach's legs out from below him.

He crashed on the floor.

When Tali got up, she looked at what she had done, and ended up back into her normal personality. "Shepard! Keelah, are you all right?" Tali attempted to help him up, crouching down to bring him up-

Zach's eyes shot open and he grabbed ahold of Tali, bringing her to the ground as he pinned her underneath him. His hands were locked with hers and his legs kept her own legs on the ground. Tali struggled with her human captor, but to no avail.

"Let me go, you bosh'tet!" She squirmed even more.

"Bosh'tet, huh?" Zach joked. "If that's the quarian equivilant to the human word 'bastard', you're only half-right about that." He let her stop fighting before he brought himself closer to her face. "Just remember that sometimes people will do this to you after that. If it's your friends, laugh. If it's your enemies, your left leg has been loose enough for you to free yourself so you can gain the upper hand. Look for those opportunities if this ever happens to you in danger."

Tali immediately wrapped her left leg around his to quickly switch who had the upper hand. She pulled his leg closer to her and used her momentum to place herself on top of him. Now she held him tight on the ground, but he didn't even attempt to get free. Instead he was laughing.

"What?" Tali asked.

"This reminds me of the old days, although I never had a snickering audiance like I did now." They turned towards Garrus and Wrex, who seemed to have been laughing their heads off silently.

"You guys are just too funny sometimes." Tali got off of Shepard and helped him up.

"Hey, Tali, do you know if the geth had any kind of religion?" Zach asked as he got up.

"No. The geth have never been known to conform to any religion. Why do you ask?"

"During our mission on Feros, we found something that seemed to have been some kind of shrine. I took a picture of it to see if you had any insight on this." He pulled out his omni-tool and showed her the picture.

"I've never seen that in any of the databases we have on the flotilla. It's strange." The claws in the picture that formed the altar made a shiver run down her spine.

"I figured as much. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Do you think they are worshiping the Reapers?"

"If they are, that means trouble. I think I'm going to look more into it." Zach walked into the elevator. "Until then, I think Wrex is doing a very good job training you, Tali. I'll see you later."

"Okay, Shepard. See you later."

"You, too, Tali." The elevator door closed and his thoughts flooded into his brain. His trick he showed Tali was a similar trick he had shown to Jess when he was far younger. The fact he was thinking about this was making him feel uneasy. Six years, and he still couldn't get over the things they had said to each other. How could he have done that to her? She had lied to him when he had known the truth, but if he had known more about what had happened after that...

The final letter she had wrote for him before they had landed on Akuze had dragged him into all of this regret. If he had known she had suffered that, he would have never said what he did.

But you can't change the past once it is written.

The elevator door opened, and he left for him room, getting lost in thought over his past all over again.

Serrice Council HQ, 12:00 pm

Onboard the Citadel

Stark slipped on the armor that Nyrina had been making with the group. Nyrina smiled as he had her help him with the chest piece. Talitha was allowed to leave the hospital for a bit, but doctors had asked if they could keep her there temporarily to ensure that she could function in society without an anxiety attack. He smiled at her while Nyrina tightened the straps.

"Honey, I have a question for you." Stark asked Nyrina.

"What?" Nyrina asked.

"Whose idea was it to make my armor red and gold?"

"Mine."

"Why?"

"I thought it'd represent your personalities. Red stands for blood, such as the blood of both your victims and people you have lost. Gold stands for your heart of gold and charisma."

"Uh-huh. Who set you up for this?"

"No one." Nyrina turned around when the door opened. An asari Stark was told was named Matriarch Traya entered. She wore a white dress with blue seams and stripes around it. It would've reminded him of Shepard had it not been for the fact an asari stood before him.

"Nyrina, I believe this is your boyfriend, Stark, no?" Her voice was stern; a motherly voice that spoke towards her children with kindness and caution.

"Yes. Henry and his sister Talitha are here."

"I have heard a great many things about you, Lieutenant Stark. But most of the stories don't seem to do you justice."

"Well, most of the stories say I drink the blood of batarians and pillage and rape their women." Stark smirked. "But those stories aren't true. I just kill people who fight me with the intent to kill."

"They never state how ruggedly handsome you are either." Traya turned towards Nyrina coughing. "But I know better than to step over my boundaries. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, ma'am." He saluted as Nyrina handed him his helmet.

"Good. Enter the training arena through there. Nyrina, your sister, and I will be at the top booth watching your progress."

Stark nodded before Nyrina kissed him. When they were finished, he slipped on his helmet and entered the arena. He looked up and saw some of the asari's faces. Some were approving while others were glaring.

_Glad to know it's easy to spot those that hate me. I'll be glad to put on a show. _He smiled behind his helmet as he stood in the center of the arena. He caught sight of Talitha and Nyrina and waved, seeing them both wave back; their smiles warming his heart even more.

_"Henry Stark, you are to hit the holograms we send out with any biotic attack you can use. Good luck." _Traya released her hold on the intercom as she activated the holograms. Four geth holograms appeared, and Stark immediately reacted. He reaved one as he rolled away from blaster fire. He released a shockwave attack on the three others, knocking two back. The last one he pulled forward before using the reave attack again, causing a biotic explosion.

Inside the booth, Nyrina was smiling. Stark's power levels were incredible with the suit on. The results were coming onto her datapad, and they all were beyond expected.

"Not bad, for a _human._" One of the disapproving asari muttered, giving Nyrina a feeling of anger.

_"I can hear you, sour patch." _Stark replied. Nyrina turned to see Matriarch Traya had pressed the intercom button before she spoke of the next threat. _"Matriarch Traya, what am I trying my hand against now?"_

"You will be facing off against batarian slaver holograms. Let's see how well you fare with your biotics rather than that fancy knife of yours."

_"Just for the record, if I fought a batarian without my knife outside the simulator, I'll lose my reputation forever."_ The asari laughed at his little joke as the holograms came forth.

"All right, let's see how this suit can do with my punches." The batarian holograms ran forward and attempted to use their omni-fists against him. Stark easily avoided their fists and ended up placing a few blows on them. He formed his biotics now, punching one into a wall where it disappeared. He swept his feet under another, finishing off with a biotic stomp. The last two ran right at him, but one was thrown over Stark's shoulder, crashing to the ground before his fist collided with the hologram. The other he elbowed back before he charged his hands with biotic energy, yelling out "HY-DOU-KEN!" before the hologram disappeared.

"Is your boyfriend always like this when he kills batarians?" Another asari asked.

"Having fun with it?" Nyrina answered. "No. He's usually serious. Maybe he's just putting on a show."

Traya turned on the intercom again. "Okay, Stark. I think I have everything we need."

_"Hold up." _Stark answered. _"I have an idea. Spawn the biggest enemy you have."_

"What?" Everybody in the booth asked.

_"It'll be all right. I just want to try something."_

Stark then saw a geth prime spawn in front of him. It was far enough away for him to do what he wanted to do. He began building up all of his biotic energy. He knew he was going to have a hell of an appetite after this; granted he survived his plan, of course.

Nyrina went for the intercom. "Stark, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

All of his energy surrounded him. He threw a reave attack at the prime. "No. No I'm not." He then threw his arms back and yelled as he felt his body charge straight at the geth prime, causing the hologram to shatter as he crashed into the wall. The hole he caused in the simulator was astounding.

"By the Goddess!" Traya yelled as they ran out to find where Stark ended up at. Nyrina was the first one to find him as she ran faster than the rest of the asari. He was on the ground, shaking his head as he attempted to take off his helmet.

"Stark! Are you all right?" She helped remove the helmet to see him smiling at her.

Stark knew just what to say about this. "Yeah, I can fly."

Nyrina hit him playfully as they laughed about his chaos.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, let me get this straight: Garrus is jealous of Zach because Liara got into his head first, Ashley is jealous of Tali because Zach hangs out with her more, and perhaps Matriarch Traya is jealous of Nyrina because Stark is with her? What are the odds. And no, I'm not saying what's up with the helmet from the beginning. Like Ethan and Shawn, you'll see it eventually.

And I would like to inform you all that the next chapter may be a little slower. Work is giving me more hours because one person had to drop last-minute he was gone for a week. So hopefully the next chapter won't come out so slowly. It'll be about the Chairman Burns quest and the revealing of a minor character only talked about by memory. Shoutouts to my reviewers. You're all awesome.


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